Call From Another World
by Nocturnal Novelist
Summary: Kenny finds himself in the Pokemon world, where he learns lessons of life that he denied his whole life. He'll soon find himself in the middle of chaos in the making. Will this teen ever find his way back home? Who's behind it all? Why is he even here? Read to find out! Rated M for strong language, violence, and Human x Pokemon lemons in the later chapters.
1. Into the New World!

**Call From Another World  
Chapter 1**

 **AN: Hello everyone, this isn't exactly a new story of mine. In fact, it's at least a year old and I decided that it was a story deserving a redo since so many people liked it while I was writing it. This took a really long time to redo, especially with my new style and it's nearly two thousand words longer than the original. I hope you all enjoy, and feel free to leave a review!**

 **This Story Contains: Action, violence, and blood in the later chapters. Cursing/swearing, depending on chapters it can be mild or a ton. It also contains pokephilla, fluff, and lemons, the lemons I will give a warning for, but you'll probably be waiting for a while. The last warning I'll give is that you may hear a bunch of horrible references to video games, television shows, and other media. That's honestly the worst part. If you don't like any of this stuff, I suggest you don't read.**

 **Disclaimer: Pokemon is owned by the marvelous people at GameFreak! I only own my Ocs and the fan region this story will be placed in.**

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The sounds of the raging storm that took over the skies devastated the city. Rain came splashing onto the ground below and seemed to hit the windows as if it were hail. The wind howled through the nights, the trees swinging back and forth wildly as they attempted to keep their roots into the ground. This was the day before it would happen, the day that my life was going to change.

It is quite a long story, but I suppose we should begin with an introduction. My name is Kenny, or you could just call me Ken. Whichever you choose isn't my concern.

I have a question for you.

Have you ever wondered if any video game you happened to play, or any television show or movie you have watched could have been a reality in another world? Another universe? I wished, wished that for a long time, but people always tell me be careful what you wish for.

As I slept through that night, the storm would calm down. Not that it meant the next morning would be considered normal…

…

The sun would rise early that morning, relieving many people in the usually tranquil neighborhood that I called home. Though the sky had a few rainclouds still littering the sky, it didn't stop the sun from shining its rays through my window, which would eventually intensify on me as I would remain asleep in my bed.

I didn't want to open my eyes, in fact, it almost felt as if I couldn't at all. It would be pretty normal for any lazy teenager my age. Unfortunately, I knew that the sun already had ruined my sleep and would cause me to wake up whether I wanted to or not so I decided to sit up.

"I need to get off my butt and put those blinds back up soon," I said to myself, my voice somewhat deep and showing my exhaustion. I dragged my fingers across my eyes, cleaning them of any bacterial debris that might have been there. It was a terrible night of sleep.

I won't be pessimistic and say I always had a bad night, but I certainly had quite the odd dream. One of the few dreams I could remember and perceive clear as day.

There was someone speaking to me, whoever it was never bothered to show me their face. All I'll say is that it was a voice, and it nagged me as if it were someone's mother, not that I don't like my mom.

That voice told me that I was a lazy bum, in every sense of the word. It told me that I didn't appreciate life as it was and took the people around me for granted. The last part was the weirdest, the voice telling me that I would have to learn to trust others again and gain life experience. I never had a dream that got so deep about it.

I leaned back on the headboard of my bed, thinking about the dream, wondering if it really meant anything. "I'm seventeen years old now, nearly an adult," I said, no one around for me to really speak to.

I could never guess why I even bothered to think so deep about a silly dream, even if it did feel a little more real than fantasy.

" _That voice is kinda right, I guess."_ I thought, putting my hand on my chin. I had a few friends and my family, but I do admit that if something were to ever happen, I would want no one's help but my own. I've been told before that I had pride issues, and that I should accept help from others. I didn't blame their way of thinking, but what were the odds of me running into a situation that I couldn't find a way out of myself?

I am far from being the best person on this Earth, but I would like to at least think of myself as smart, smarter than what other people would know.

I certainly made better decisions in my life than most teenagers my age. While I do only happen to play video games and doodle on my free time, at least I don't do drugs, at least I'm not in jail like most people are. Most of the time, that happens because they are around other people who happen to do the same thing. I couldn't understand why people wouldn't get off of my back about it.

Something else came into my mind, a detail of that dream that I overlooked until now. That voice saying something about 10 A.M. before I started to wake up.

I turning my head to where I could see my digital clock which sat on the floor, it was only 7:39.

I stared at the clock in anticipation, realizing I was awake very early for a weekend morning. It was odd indeed, and it was because I was getting worked up over a stupid dream.

"What a load of crap," I said to myself before laughing it up and standing up to my feet and going to the bathroom to brush my teeth for the morning.

As I walked into the bathroom and turned the light on, I was met with my reflection in the mirror.

"I've really let myself go," I told myself, patting my head as I mentally reminded myself to pick out my nearly matted hair so it could go back to its former glory. My dark brown eyes seemed dull, more than usual I mean. I stood just a little bit above five and a half feet and I was fairly muscular, though I wouldn't say my shape was that good. At least I wasn't fat.

After I proceeded to brush my teeth, I went to go handle my chores like any other normal teenager my age had to do.

My walk to the kitchen turned into anything but normal when I felt a strong wind push from behind, and because I could not react to such a strange force, I found myself tripping and falling flat on my face before I could even attempt to defend myself.

I grunted the moment I hit the ground, an audible thump echoing through the house. I was lucky that no one was here.

"Ow, damn it.." I said, continuing to swear under my breath as I picked myself up off of the floor.

I slowly stepped back into my room, keeping my senses on guard. I was becoming more paranoid by the minute, all these weird dreams and 10 A.M., I was nearing my wits end in one day.

Turning to my alarm clock once again out of curiosity, my eyes shot open as I stared at the time.

9:23 A.M.

My jaw felt as if it was dropping to the ground like an anchor as my rear end slammed onto my bed. I rubbed my eyes, not once, but three times to make sure I really wasn't nuts.

"D-Did I step on it? Did daylight savings come early this year!? It's still January...right?" I said, trying to convince myself I had some sanity as I racked my head for any logical reason behind this. It could just be broken, but I wasn't taking that chance. _I was so very naive._

I proceeded to check every appliance and device around the house that could tell time, but they all were the same… It was real..

"Yup. Definitely daylight savings," I concluded, crossing my arms as I nodded my head.

"For gods sake child, no," said a voice, which seemed to come from nowhere. Actually, the voice was here, but it seemed to come from afar at the same time. Basically, the voice was here in my mind, but I couldn't help but feel that whoever was talking to me was really far away. They were obviously nowhere that I could see.

Believing I was going crazy once again, I gave a few knocks to my head with the knuckles of my fist. This soon proved to be a horrible idea, as it only caused a nearly unbearably loud ring to echo through my head. I fell down to my knees and held my head as I groaned, the only way I could describe such a horrible feeling is with the thought of an insect in someone's ear. I heard it was extremely painful, but this was awful in its own right.

"Dammit! What's going on!?" I yelled, desperately wanting to slam my head into the tile floor that was below me.

"Hear me now, child! You have thirty minutes until your time strikes to ten. As I told you before, get what you'll need." the voice called.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. There was no way that all of that was not just a dream, but I knew this felt too real to not be reality.

"You will be away from home for a long time, I do not intend to joke around with you! Be arrogant if you must, it will be your own problem if you are not prepared to head into the new world. Farewell…"

Just as it said that, the voice faded into the air, not to be heard again. I remained on my knees, as my head finally ceased with the ringing. Sweat poured down my face like a waterfall as I panted with sweet relief, the cool air harmlessly sweeping through my ears.

"If you're gonna be so vague about 'the new world'" I said with a childish mocking tone "You should've just sent me then and there,"

I always thought that Florida was a normal place where nothing would happen, besides maybe the hurricanes and other forms of bipolar weather. This though, this was a different type of weird, one that made my face spawn a grin.

A mentally sane person would ask what I found so amusing about this situation. This was the first time in a while that I felt really excited about something, even I felt weird of the thrill I got from it all.

I took a look at the clock that was nearest to me, seeing that it was currently 9:31.

"Guess I better get set," I said to myself, my voice quieting down as I stood back up to my feet.

There was nothing wrong with at least amusing myself. Some part of me still thought that that voice was only a figment of my imagination.

In fact, all of it reminded me of those nightmarish daydreams I would get when I looked a little too far into a certain horror game as a child. This time though, I wasn't fueled by fear, and I can't say nothing else would've caused this either.

Despite my doubts, I went along with this little voice and collected some clothes to wear as well as some food to snack on just in case I got hungry. I was somewhat thinking of it like a long camping trip, cut me some slack.

I changed out of whatever I was currently wearing and slipped on a plain black shirt, a pair of blue denim jeans, and a pair of red and black sneakers. One could say these colors were my main style, everyone would instantly recognize me with this look.

After grabbing my wallet which sat atop the dresser, I took a peek inside, mentally groaning to myself. "Thirty bucks? I might as well say I'm broke," I said to myself with a chuckle, knowing I would have no time to run to the store.

I grabbed the bag I just recently packed and pulled the straps over my shoulders, adjusting it so it would fit snugly against my back.

This situation actually made me happy a little, it would finally be my chance to take a few steps into the world, finally proving myself to everyone who said teamwork makes the dream work. The thought of exploring another world beyond this one, there was no limit to what I could do! One could say that was my dream, but others would call it an ambition.

I will say that I don't hate people, especially the people who do care for my well being. Somethings though, I felt necessary to do on my own.

Despite the obvious fact that I was going nuts, I sat on my bed before crossing my arms. Still waiting for the moment of truth.

I was so confident that this was a joke that it seemed as if I was getting cocky. It was possibly nothing more than my desires taking over my perception, trying to give me some hope. It was sad, because hope was not a certainty in my heart…

Minutes continued to pass by slower than what I could imagine.

9:45..

9:46..

9:52..

9:59..

I continued to watch the clock, until the time would finally strike to 10:00 A.M.

I couldn't help myself from giving a little chuckle, I wish it were that modest. The reality was that I was really cracking up, my laughter possibly had an echo that could travel through the entire house.

My face cringed up and I shut my eyes, tears forced out of them before I would finally let up my laughter and let my face loosen itself.

"I can't believe it really expected me to fall for those stupid mind tricks," I told myself as I layed on my bed with my eyes still closed. I must have laughed so hard that the heat on my face would intensify, but that sure didn't explain why I could feel grass beneath me..

My laughter ceased to a dead stop, my eyes remained closed as my hands felt my surroundings, it certainly felt like grass.

I wanted to think my mother got that new carpet in early, but if I were on my bed, there was no way I could say anything about carpet..

I opened my eyes, what I saw was anything but inside of my room. All I found was the bright blue sky, pure white clouds and a few large birds that soared across it.

There really was grass under my body, and there happened to be trees around me too. Not only was there no sign of my room, but I was not even in my own neighborhood anymore.

"Okay.. " I said to myself, able to find no better words to describe this moment. A drop of sweat dripped down the side of my face as I sat up.

"I have officially lost it.." I said under my breath as I crawled over to a nearby tree and sat against it. I tried to comprehend whatever was happening, wondering if I went a little crazy after playing a little too much of a video game and ate some random mushroom. No. I knew I would do something like that.

I worried of the possibility of someone passing me by in this state. What would they see, what would they think? As I kept myself occupied with these questions, an idea was soon to come to my mind.

"I guess I'll just wait until it's over," I said, convincing myself to relax my nerves.

I let my body loosen up as I slumped on the tree, taking a look at the scenery with no worries. At least this place seemed rather fresh and out of the city.

A sudden rustle nearby made me jump to my feet. I looked to the side, seeing something dash through the grass. It didn't look like it was coming for me as it eventually passed me by, whatever it was, it was quite bizarre and the way it ran was just as odd.

It ran with a wobbly zigzag pattern, as if it were impossible for it to run straight. I was lucky enough to get a good look at the creature, and it looked very familiar.

Just like the way it ran, its fur had a zigzag pattern as well, the colors of brown and white were the most of what I saw. Also, its fur also seemed to prick out in that pattern as well..

" _Wait a sec…"_ I thought.

That couldn't have have been a zigzagoon I just saw, I didn't want to believe it. My eyes knew however, what I saw happened to be that exact pokemon.

I rested one of my hands on the tree while I used the other one to smack myself on the head as I remembered that this was only an illusion. I would soon relax myself once again, at least for a moment before I heard it.

A howl, numerous howls that made me shiver as my blood turned ice cold. Whatever this was, it was the obvious reason why that zigzagoon was running. The howls only seemed to close in, and I started to hear snarling as well.

"It's just an illusion, right? It's like a theater or something…" I told myself, trying to relax again as I planned to see just how this movie would play out.

I finally decided to look in the direction of where I heard the ominous howls, and just as I looked, my body froze in fear.

There wasn't just one, but several houndoom coming my way. A whole pack.

I wasn't stupid enough to let my frozen blood keep me in that same spot. I did just as any other sane person would and ran as fast as my legs could carry me even if I knew that there was no way I could outrun multiple hellhounds.

"OH FUCK!" I yelled, panting through my breaths as I forced myself to run faster than what I imagined was possible. This was one of those moments where I would have to do something I hated doing more than anything. I didn't like it, but I had no other choice unless I wanted to be deep fried by a flamethrower.

"SOMEONE! ANYONE HELP!" I yelled again, forcing my lungs to shoot past their limits, I never felt more useless and pathetic than this moment, but I rather drop my pride for that one second then die forever. The houndoom were quickly closing the gap between us, and I knew I was surely going to die.

I soon felt something rather large ram into my side, causing me to lose my balance and sent me flying a few feet. That take down was painful, but my body would find itself skidding on the ground, making dust and grass fly into the air as I felt myself sliding into a nearby ditch that happened to be near. That was even more painful, and I could feel the bruises that would cover my arms.

Whatever tackled me into the ditch seemed to have a hand over me as we both could hear the pack of houndoom running past us. It also seemed as if they didn't truly care for my presence in the first place.

I then realized the fact that I would soon face a new problem as my 'hero' would soon take its hand from over me. Judging by how it felt, I wondered if that was really a hand that was on me. The real question, was should I try to get up.

I soon noticed two pairs of black paws in front of me, each of them having long claws that were definitely meant to tear meat apart, or in this case me..

My eyes slowly scrolled up, trying to see the full body of this creature. I realized that this was obviously some type of canine as I stared at its body shape. It had gray fur, but what caught my eyes were the two shiny black manes that went down it's back. If I wasn't so anxious of this suspicious character, I would have called them beautiful.

I was beginning to get an idea of what this creature was, making me not even want to look at its face. Despite this, I still did.

A wet red nose, rhombus shaped ears, sharp red eyes, and numerous sharp fangs that showed from its open maw. It surely put the 'might' in mightyena.

I came to the ultimate conclusion that I was screwed the moment it looked at me the wrong way. I didn't want to think of the reason why it looked at me the way it did, I could barely take a guess at what it was thinking.

Even if it would have been smart to just accept my fate and die on the spot, I couldn't help but crawl back little by little. I haven't felt fear like this in a long while..

The mightyena continued to stare at me, inching towards me everytime I would attempt to crawl away. It was slowly closing the gap between the two of us before an awful pain would shoot through my body My body was aching, searing badly from that attack I have endured earlier.

" _Why now..?"_ I thought, cursing under my breath as the pain made me almost stop with the thought of trying to get away.

In my crippled state, the mightyena would only finally close the gap between us.

"If this a dream, wake me up right now," I whispered to myself, proceeding to hold my breath as what would be considered a dream come true for me became a nightmare in five minutes flat.

"Wait, you really don't want to eat me, just give me a chance, please." I begged, believing that these were possibly my final moments.

The mightyena tilted it's head, giving me a quizzical expression as she heard my plea.

"...What in the world are you talking about?" it asked, a feminine tone being present in its voice. I guessed that it was a female, but my eyes shot open as I realized that she just spoke audible English to me. Whoever had me under their drugs sure had some powerful stuff.

I wanted to dig my ears to make sure I heard it right, but of course that would be disgusting to do here and now.

"Uh.. I'm sorry, did you just talk?" I asked her. The moment I did, her eyes shot open just as mine's had. She seemed rather surprised.

"Wait, you understood what I said!?" she asked me, her face now having a big grin as her tail swayed behind her. I couldn't imagine what she was up to..

"Amazing, I never knew it was possible that there existed a human that could understand my speech!" the mightyena said. She seemed ecstatic about it all, the reason why I would never be able to tell.

I came to the conclusion that this was some fantasy world that was like the pokemon world most people would know. The only difference was that I must really be the only person in this world that can understand pokemon. I had no clue what to think of it, and as much as I wished to ponder on it, I planned on trying to sneak away once again while she was distracted.

As soon as the thought came into my mind however, her attention focused on me once more, causing my blood to turn to ice. It was like we were playing freeze tag out here..

There was not a thing I could do. The mightena started to sniff at my arms before sniffing around the rest of my bruised body, even the bag that was still attached to my back.

My paranoia created too many scenarios in my head that would kill a normal person just by the stress of it alone.

Before my mind could conjure anymore horrific daydreams, I found that my body was surrounded by an odd light. As I stared at my glowing form, the pain I received earlier began to disappear, as well as the bruises that I received. My skin was clean once again, and I couldn't help but give a sigh of relief.

I didn't know why she did this, also how a mightyena knew how to use a healing move but the first question bothered me more. I looked her in the face, only finding a big smile.

"Thank you.." I told her, not really able to come up with anything better to say. She giggled at my comment.

"Hehe, no problem, you should learn to trust others a little more," she told me, that smile never leaving her face as I thought about her words. They sounded just like something that voice in my head would say..

"What a weirdly specific dream," I said under my breath, the mightyena's ears twitching the moment I said it. I believed she heard me, but that was the least of my worries.

I was rather embarrassed about the entire situation in general, I wondered how I would ever prove to anyone that I could handle myself after I got saved like that when I could have jumped into that ditch myself.

"You should be a little more careful around here," she told me. "Not that those houndoom are bad like everyone thinks, but they sure don't like people getting in the way when they hunt," she said with a giggle before continuing to speak.

"Also, did I hear you say that you were dreaming everything?" she asked. I nodded to her question.

"You heard right." I said, crossing my arms. "I don't belong here, my world is far different than this.. Well, I'll admit my world seems boring in comparison but you get it.. Right now, you're probably still just a figment of my imagination," I said, the thought of poking her to check only got more tempting by the minute.

The mightyena gave me a look that told me she was not buying a word of what I was saying, making sweat leak on the side of my head. Even I had to admit at this point, this seemed way to realistic to just be a dream, and I'm usually rather invincible in my dreams. If this was a dream, it would make quite the outlier.

I found out that I didn't have much time to think it over as the canine next to me began to growl, she seemed really annoyed, and quickly becoming someone I didn't want to piss off. The look in her now malicious eyes said it all.

" _Me and my stupid mouth,"_ I thought, shaking in place as a toothy smirk soon appeared on her face.

"Would you like me to test your theory, that I'm just some thought inside of your head," she asked me, her glare making it feel as if someone were throwing daggers straight into my soul.

I made quick work of shaking my head in disagreement. "No no wait! I shouldn't have said that I'm sorry!" I begged apologetically, not wanting to be bitten or worse.

As quick as her face changed at first, she had her normal enthusiastic smile on her face just as quickly.

"Much better," she said, sitting next to me. As she sat by my side, her fur just barely brushed against my skin, it was an odd feeling that I couldn't describe, but I saw it as the time to move on about things.

"Okay, so I guess this isn't a dream or whatever after all, fine." I said to her, making her look at me. "Anyway, what's your name? If you have one," I asked.

"Oh, it's Dalieya," she told me with her usual smile. I wouldn't say it to her face, but I thought the name was super cute, even for a big mightyena like her. It reminded me of someone I once knew, but that would be a story for another time.

"Cool name," I told her, not wanting to go into the details with it.

I looked at her from the corner of my eye, she seemed to be blushing with a lot of pride. I wish I knew why.

"Thank you, I'm sure you have a pretty nice name too," she asked, curiosity in her voice as she looked at me with those crimson red eyes.

"It's Kenny, or you could just say Ken. It's a weird name, I know," I told her, my voice showing that I had little interest in talking about myself.

"Weird? Nah, it's a pretty cute name to call you by," she said with a giggle. I didn't want to, but her complement made me smile a little.

"Thanks," I said, standing up to my feet and walking away from her before I proceeded to crawl out of the ditch.

I heard something following me. When I turned around to take a look, I saw that it was Dalieya, right behind me. She still looked up with me with a smile on her face as I wondered what could she want from me. There was an awkward moment of silence between us until I finally spoke up.

"Need something?" I asked, Dalieya skipping her paw on the ground before she answered me.

"Well, I was thinking.. If you really just came to our world from out of the blue like you say, won't you need someone to protect you...from other pokemon and stuff. You know," she said, giving an innocent smile.

As much as I hated to admit it, she was actually right. Of course that pride of mine would get in the way of things once again.

"Well, maybe you're right. But.. That houndoom thing was something out of the ordinary, I'm sure I can take it from here," I told her, crossing my arms as my pride made me seem more arrogant by the second. Even I didn't know why I had these fatal social issues.

Dalieya stared at me with a blank expression before she giggled, walking over to me and bumping against my leg. Due to me not expecting such an odd move, it almost made me lose my balance. I luckily caught myself and glared at her.

"What's so funny?" I said, a growl following my words as she giggled some more.

"I'm sure you can handle it, big boy. Good luck, you know other big pokemon like to hunt for a meal at night. Some will actually eat a human you know," she told me, a tsk following her words before she walked past me.

I turned to look at her, staring for a few moments as I thought about the fact I could've literally been killed just a couple of minutes ago. I dragged my hand down the length of my face, knowing that she called out my bluff straight to my face.

"Alright alright! You win, come back.." I told her, trying not to beg. The mightyena only stopping in her tracks, not bothering to turn back around.

"Did you say something?" she asked, still not bothering to turn back around.

"Dalieya I need you…please," I said in defeat just loud enough for her to hear.

With that, Dalieya turned around and trotted back to me with that same jubilant smile that seemed to never leave her face.

"C'mon, Kenny! This'll be a wonderful thing! Being in a team, I'll watch your back and you watch mine. I know you need me... But in a way, I need you too," she told me, extending her paw out to me in an attempt to shake my hand.

I did wonder why she would really need me, but that wasn't really something I thought too deeply about.

Even if I did indeed agree to this, I knew that I really didn't have any choice in the matter anyway. I kneeled down so I could be eye level with her and shook her paw with my hand, a small smile forming on my face.

"I suppose I'll give you my word as well, we'll work together, for now." I told her, guessing that this was the smarter idea, Dalieya giggling at my comment.

"I guess that's the best I'll get from you for now, but I promise I won't make you regret it." Dalieya told me, her words sounding sincere.

I guess this really isn't a dream after all. I am not certain how things would go from here and I still didn't know the complete truth why Dalieya wanted to help me out. While I didn't hate the idea of having her with me, I would have to trust her if I hoped to get far in the world of Pokemon...


	2. Stories of the Past

**Call From Another World**

 **Chapter 2**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon. I only own my characters and my fan made region.**

 **I hope you all enjoy, read and review!**

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 **Recap: Kenny got himself into a lot of trouble in the few hours since he has been awake. Finding himself into the Pokemon world, hearing voices in his head, escaping from death by houndoom, and in the end meeting a kind mightyena named Dalieya. Where will this new adventure take Kenny from here?**

Things have gotten pretty crazy for me lately it seems, and it's far from my control.

Being taken from my quiet home in Florida, I found myself in the Pokemon world. Now I seem to have found myself a partner in a happy mightyena who was named Dalieya. She honestly did not seem bad, especially considering her kind is known as the Bite Pokemon. I was lucky to not be bitten once.

My bag was still strapped to my back, with my spending money as well as clothes and food inside. I didn't think I would last anything more than a day. Despite that thought, and call me wrong, but I couldn't help but see this as an awesome opportunity.

Even though I haven't heard that voice for a while, it still seemed to bother me somehow. I wondered about what it said I needed to learn, to trust, appreciate others and other stuff, which I will admit I did not remember too well. It really wasn't my concern but I still thought about it.

…

As Dalieya and I walked across the fields, as cool wind would blow by a little, going straight through my curly hair while it made Dalieya's fur slightly waver along with it. The hour was starting to become late, having to be near the end of the evening by now. I had been following the mightyena's lead to who knows where, the constant exercise I have endured today was making me rather exhausted.

At this point, I was lagging behind my mightyena comrade, and she seemed to notice my slack before she looked up towards the sky.

"Maybe we should take a break for the night," she suggested, as she stared up towards the sky, it slowly began to turn orange and murkrow would soon soar the skies across the horizon.

It was a nice night, but then I realized what she just told me.

"Take a break for the night," I said, looking at her. "As in sleeping out here? Sleeping on the grass? No blanket or bed? No anything?" I asked seriously, pointing down to the ground after each sentence.

Dalieya tilted her head at me, obviously having no problem with this idea. She was indeed a wild pokemon so I couldn't really blame her. I was also starting to realize that I was a little too domesticated for my own good, I had to toughen up.

"I don't see what's wrong with it. It's a pretty peaceful and open spot," she reassured. "It's not likely that other pokemon will try to attack us way out here anyway."

I didn't have too much of a choice anyway, I had no clue where to go from here and I was far too exhausted to even argue with her. So without another word, I sat down on the ground as Dalieya giggle.

"You humans sure can be weird sometimes, Kenny," she admitted, walking over to my side and laying by me. "You really should try sleeping outside more, it can be pretty refreshing."

"You say that like you've slept in a house before," I told her.

"Oh, yeah. I used to have a trainer.." Dalieya said, her face losing her smile as her last words lost their usual enthusiastic tone.

I couldn't respond. Actually, I could, but what could I say? I could tell by her sudden silence that something must have happened to her trainer, something not so good.

My hand moved about awkwardly on the grass below, while it was rather soft on closer inspection, that was the least of my concerns at this moment. I was overall curious of what happened to her trainer, but I cared about how would she react if I were to ask a question that was too personal.

It wasn't my business, so it was a question that would probably be better not to ask. I didn't know what to do, I knew I couldn't just sit there and act like I didn't care. Not this time.

Dalieya didn't say a word as I had an entire mental debate on whether or not I should say something.

"..I guess you may be wondering where he is now, huh?" she asked, looking at me as I my mind dropped the question, since she already knew I was struggling to say something.

"Well, yes.. But, I don't want you to push yourself into remembering something horrible for you, I completely understand that." I told her, looking in her eyes to let her know I was actually concerned for her. She smiled at me, even if it was only for a brief moment.

"That's sweet of you, Kenny. But I think I will, I really want to get this off of my chest…to someone at least. If..it's okay with you," she said.

I remained silent, but nodded my head. I could tell this was quite a rare thing to see in her, to see her so troubled by something, it worried me as well. The hyena took a sigh, seeing my cue as she prepared to relive the moment..

"When Sanin and I first met, our encounter was nothing more than your average human and pokemon encounter. Like you, Kenny, he had no pokemon. This made me curious, and I still wonder why he would catch a wild mightyena out of the blue. As you know, I am not as ruthless as some mightyena can be, so I only watched him. He was very confident in himself, just like you and he had no fear of me, which made me curious of what he was about," she told me.

She seemed to get a little more of a smile on her face as she thought about the moment they met, I listened on, fully interested in her story. Though, how she went about it, was leading me to believe that they might have been a little more than pokemon and trainer. Even if she did seem to compare Sanin with me, I could tell we were two different people.

"I will admit that I gave him a bit of trouble, but I eventually decided to let him catch me," she said with a giggle as she looked down to the ground, once again, her smile didn't stay on her face for long.

"He was really kind to me, and since I was his first ever pokemon, we had a lot of time to play and train together. We've grown very attached to each other. As I did to you, I made a vow to protect him with my very life, if push came to shove.." she told me, her words silencing once again.

I noticed that her paws were beginning to shake, her eyes glistening due to the tears that were building inside. I could feel my face frown as I watched her like this, and I had a feeling I knew the part of the story that came next. I listened on and didn't say a word, not wishing to be rude to her.

"That night.. The night that it happened, is a time I hate to remember.." Dalieya told me, her paws still shaking in their place. "Sanin and I were out in the wilderness for the night. There was a bad storm brewing and we had no shelter since me and his other pokemon traveled with him. This didn't happen too long before you and I met.." she said, taking a long pause between her words as she shut her eyes briefly, her tears starting to mat the fur on her cheeks.

"We met this man, and his pokemon not long after the storm started. Sanin tried to ask him if he knew where we could find some shelter, we never got an answer… Instead, he attacked us, him and his pokemon had horrible power and would kill with a smirk on their face.. Without mercy, he not only killed all of my allies, but Sanin too. I didn't know why… but that man tortured him and they forced me to be the only one alive to watch. I..was helpless, unable to lift a single paw to protect him any longer. His cries of pain, they were too much for me to bare but I wanted him to run away and save himself from the beginning..but he just wouldn't leave things to us, he cared too much…" she told me, along with her paws, her body began to shake. "His last words, that last 'I love you' would never leave my heart. As quick as they came, they left, left me to curse myself for failing my team. I was Sanin's protector, he called me his angel, but I failed him…"

I sat there in silence, completely taken aback from what I heard her say. Dalieya's body started to shake again, this time much more violently with the passing second. Her claws dug deep into the ground as an attempt to anchor her body to stay still, but it never worked.

I didn't have any clue of what I should say to her, especially knowing I was not that good with words. All I could do, was wrap my arms around Dalieya and give her a comforting hug. I didn't usually hug people, I would barely hug the people I know, but she needed it, and it honestly didn't feel too bad to be kind.

"You shouldn't blame yourself, you couldn't do anything more and you tried your hardest. I.. Guess there are some situations where you just can't help how powerful they are when the odds are against you.. It's going to be okay," I said.

Dalieya looked towards me as I hugged her, tears still in her eyes before she shut them again, letting the tears freely flow down her face before she put her head in my chest and started to sob.

"That's the problem! I was supposed to lead the team, we all had a common cause and that was to protect Sanin with our lives! I was too weak to protect anyone.." she nearly yelled, her sobbing never seeming to cease as she mourned over the loss of her dear friends. I had to do something..

"Look, Dalieya, I know how you feel," I told her, holding her head up with my hand so she could see the serious look on my face. "I know what it's like to lose people too, sometimes the thought of wishing you could do better for them can be overwhelming, even for someone like me. It doesn't change their fate, when their too far gone there's nothing we can do but try to keep moving forward and making them proud." I said, looking her in the eyes as she fell silent.

"It's true I sometimes don't appreciate what I have enough. But, I know I should appreciate you a lot more than I did before.. I thought my life was over before you saved my skin, and I'm pretty sure Sanin is looking down at you, and he's super proud, you told me you would protect me and you kept that word before I even knew your name," I told her, sincerity in my voice as she continued to stare at me. "I was an asshole to you when we first met, and I should treat someone special like you a lot better, and I'm sorry." I said, looking down to the ground. I wasn't even sure I understood the words that came out of my mouth.

I peeked at her for a minute before I finally removed my hand from her chin, she stared at me with an expression I could not take a guess at. Soon however, she had a smile on her face once again before she took me in for a hug. For some reason, this made me smile too..

"Kenny, thank you.." she told me, wiping the tears from her face with her paw. Her body was no longer shaking as she held me in her paws, she appeared much calmer now.

It was a rare feeling, but I felt really good for once. I couldn't help but feel warm and fuzzy on the inside for the first time in a long time..

"You're like my second chance. I owe it to everything I lost to protect you and.. I am very happy to have met a person like you," she said, a smile on her face as she let me go, a blush on her face as her tears continued to fall to the ground once again.

I have never heard someone say such a strange thing to me, so I wasn't sure of what to say. For some reason I found myself blushing with the biggest grin on my face I could ever muster. I actually liked the feeling those words gave to me.

Now I was finally beginning to understand why she said she needed me when she first vowed to follow me. Ever since she saved me from that pack of houndoom, she felt obligated to be by my side because of these events that happened not long before we met. I reminded her too much of Sanin, and she saw me as a chance to not just prove her worth to those she failed, not just to herself either, but to someone who would appreciate her, and she saw it all in me. This meant she was expecting a lot out of me as well despite the fact we barely knew each other…

I took my finger and smudged it across Dalieya's face, wiping her face of the rest of her tears. She seemed relieved the moment my finger touched her face, and she allowed me to do so with no argument.

With that finished, I took my hand and ran it through the fur of her manes in an attempt to soothe her. The fur there felt soft to the touch unlike anything I have ever felt before. This somehow seemed to make Dalieya more comfortable.

"So, I guess I'm like your priority right now huh?" I asked out of curiosity, Dalieya nodded.

I didn't think I would have ever wanted someone to get so attached to me. I didn't think it would be possible, especially with how fast it happened.

Nonetheless, I nodded back to her. I planned to take this new responsibility in my mind and make it a priority of mine as well, this included looking after her like I told her I would. I could not believe all of this transpired in just a single day, and it would likely be a day I would remember for a long time...

I felt the weight of my bag shift slightly on my back, reminding me that I even had it in the first place. I sat up and took it off of my back before I threw it to the side.

Night came by quite a while ago, and I'm sure neither of us noticed having that deep conversation. It didn't make a difference to me either way and I layed back down next to Dalieya.

"I might as well get used to the idea of sleeping out here," I joked, trying to brighten up the mood a little as I turned on my back. Dalieya giggled at my comment. At least she was feeling better, and for now, I couldn't ask for anything more..

We laid there for a couple of minutes, basking in the tranquility of the plains we rested in before Dalieya would kill the silence, not that I had a problem with talking to her.

"Hey, could I ask you a question, Kenny?" she asked, looking towards me as I was lost in my thoughts. It took a few moments for me to come to, but I nodded to her.

"Sure, go ahead," I told her, rubbing my head so I could face her.

"Well, since you said your world is different than ours.. I was wondering what was it like? Like what's so different?" she asked, the curiosity in her voice peaking.

Even if there wasn't anything much to say, I still tried to think of a good way to explain things to her.

"I don't know if it's THAT different than this world, but I know we don't have pokemon in our world, I guess that's the main difference. Animals in our world don't have special powers or types or anything..heck, the only thing they have in common is that most could take down a human if they wanted to," I said, shrugging off that last sentence since I already knew the facts.

"Oh, well if pokemon don't exist in your world, then how do you know about them?" Dalieya asked, tilting her head.

"Well they exist, in a sense. There are video games, cards, toys, comics and a lot more where I come from, that's how I know. Pokemon is really supposed to be a children's thing but many people my age hold Pokemon to our hearts, no matter how old we get we still find ways to express our love day by day. I guess you could say it was once a fictional fantasy to me before coming here and experiencing the reality. Feels nice," I told her, not really believing how much detail I went into with it.

Dalieya seemed rather interested in my speech. "That sounds so cool! I really want to see it all for myself someday!" she said with a big grin on her face.

"Maybe someday," I told her, a chuckle soon following.

"So you've seen other mightyena before, were they cute like me?" Dalieya told me with some humor in her voice, her mood turning back to the way it always was. Her little joke caused me to almost burst out in laughter.

"I guess not," I said rolling my eyes, unable to wipe the grin on my face as we both calmed down from our giggling fit.

"Anyway," she said, finally able to keep a straight face. "Did you have a family where you came from?"

I went quiet once again, though not to the point where it would bother Dalieya. Of course I had a family, but I usually didn't bring them up in a conversation. Despite this, I told her the truth.

"Yeah. I had a mom, stepdad, two brothers and two dogs." I answered to her.

Dalieya tilted her head at me, seeming lost at something I said. "What's a stepdad?" she asked me.

This mightyena surely had a lot of questions, not that I was annoyed with her asking. She was quite curious, which was a good thing.

"Well.. I guess he's that guy that takes care of a kid and loves their mom when their normal dad is gone, that's the best I can explain it." I answered.

Luckily, Dalieya understood the general idea even though I could tell she seemed rather curious as to why my father wasn't around even though she didn't proceed to ask. Instead, she asked another question.

"Do you miss your family at all?" Dalieya asked me, I thought of how complicated it would be to explain it to her, but I tried my best.

"I've only been here for a short time, I'll admit I haven't thought about them too much," I said, putting a hand on my chin as I looked towards the ground. "I always felt as if they kept me from reaching my true potential..They always pointed the way, telling me right from wrong when I wanted to find it all out for myself… through my own experiences.." I said, Dalieya fell silent for a minute as she processed everything I just revealed.

"Oh.. I miss my family, I hope one day I will get to see them again," Dalieya said, her voice quieting down as she looked down to the grass. I didn't know why, but it made me feel horrible saying what I just did.

"Okay look, I don't hate my family or anything. I had a bad choice of words. I just want to be myself and make my own decisions, learn for myself and see how smart I really am.." I said, looking her in the eyes. "But.. I do wonder about them, and I do hope that I will get to see them again,"

A small smile appeared on my face as I looked up toward the sky where the stars were, not noticing that Dalieya was smiling at me. She was rather relieved that I was at least thinking about my family, though I did not blame her one bit. Not everyone's family relationships are golden, but Dalieya was one that definitely saw things through the end, trying to make the most of her time spent with everyone she knew. I sure could learn a thing or two from her.

The two of us just made small talk as what felt like an hour passed by. We were learning about each other little by little with our conversations. I got to find out that Dalieya lived far from where we were now, what kind of food she liked to eat and whether or not she liked to play video games. I never found myself so captivated in a conversation with another person before. Talking to her almost felt like a privilege, because I never would've thought I could find someone more interesting to hang with than her. I admitted that I didn't hate warming up to her.

Though it was far too late to complain, I regretted not bringing a watch with me since I thought it was a joke. I was a person who hated not having the time on him, but I was able to look past it at the time.

I turned onto my belly once more, watching the grass as the winds that blew made the leafy greens sway like waves of the ocean. It was a nice sight, on a beautiful night.

"I'll admit.. You're right about this outside stuff." I told Dalieya looking at her as the two of us smiled to one another. "I definitely wouldn't be doing this back at home," I said, both of us having a good laugh.

" _I can't believe how much I like hanging out with Dalieya, she's overwhelming friendly and cares a lot about me, it doesn't feel real,"_ I thought to myself looking down to my hands during my silence.

She was very caring like a mother or a sister, but she set herself apart from that easily since we weren't related in the slightest. Her tender nature and her love was something I would never find in some random person I would meet on the streets back home. I wanted to say she was like a female friend of mine, though at this point that was already the case, she didn't quite feel like just that either. She felt like something so much more, I could not put my finger on it. Whatever people would call the two of us…

" _I hope I can make her feel the same way,"_ I thought, she was all that was on my mind. " _Just what did I do to deserve a friend like her.."_

When I peeked over to Dalieya, she seemed to be lost in thought as well. Was it a possibility that she was had the same trait of thought about me? I doubted it, but whatever conflicts were going on inside of my head I decided to just boot out for the time being. I didn't want to get too deep into my thoughts about her right now.

The full moon shined bright in the night sky, casting its moonlight on the ground below. As I stared at it, I became lost in my thoughts once again.

"What am I supposed to be doing here..?" I said to myself before a warm and comforting feeling would press against my side.

It was Dalieya, asleep peacefully by my side. Dalieya looked amazing, her fur basking in the moonlight. It gave her black and gray fur a mysterious glow.

She was snoozing softly, not seeming to have a care in the world at this moment. Crying and talking all day was probably exhausting. I would never admit to anyone, especially her, what a crybaby I used to be. Besides people who just need to let their emotions out and sleeping, crying wasn't for me personally, but Dalieya had it rough, and I never had so much respect for anyone in my life.

She lost everything, but she realized by starting something anew, there would soon be an everything once again that would be worth protecting.

"Times are different now, tomorrow will always be a new day from here on out. Since times have changed, I guess I will try to as well.. I still made it here because of my own decisions, and I may be able to prove myself to someone after all," I told myself, looking at Dalieya.

I decided to get comfortable next to Dalieya, allowing her to lay against me as I laid my head on the grass. Closing my eyes, I finally fell asleep for that night..

…

"Ugh...the hell. Stop it.." I told them, whoever it was that was trying to wake me up.

I rolled over to my side as I shooed them away with my hand. I kept feeling what felt like paws poke me in my side as I continued to keep my eyes shut the entire time. I was having a really great dream about eating a lot of different types of food. It reminded me of this anime series of this boy with a tail. Who wouldn't hate being woken up from a dream like that?

Though I still kept my eyes shut through that constant poking, I could feel the still cool air that blew over me. It wasn't daytime yet, so I would never understand why someone would summon me at this hour.

"C'mon Ken, rise and shine! It's nearly morning," said a calm, feminine voice. I came to the conclusion this was obviously Dalieya.

I was really hoping she wasn't the early bird type, because on any normal day I wouldn't get up before it reached eleven in the morning, and that would be on a good day.

Luckily, the shaking seemed to stop. My body, never really leaving it's lazy, sleepy state, would soon be able to fall back into the world of slumber, with all the food I could imagine.

I knew it wouldn't be long, but then I heard footsteps around me, an almost creepy giggle following after each step. Before I could even take a guess at what was going on, I heard a loud roar straight into my ear.

"Holy fuck!" I yelled, instantly springing from my sleeping spot as if I were suddenly a rocket.

I tried to force my feet to move, but the only thing they proceeded to do was trip over one another, causing my body to spin and jerk around before I eventually fell on my butt. My hand clenched on my chest as I tried to catch my breath, losing all of my energy in that one comedy act my body pulled on me.

I looked in the direction of my supposed attacker, only finding Dalieya giggling as she walked towards me with her tail swaying back and forth.

"Morning, Ken!" she said with a happy grin as I reeled my head back, still trying in vain to catch precious air.

"Why..? Oh fuck, just why..?" I said, nearly weezing between my words before I would finally calm myself down and look at the sky.

I wiped the sweat that was currently drenching my face before I noticed the sun's position. It was barely after dawn, meaning it was only about six or seven in the morning!

I looked toward Dalieya and gave her a menacing glare. I got over the fact that she scared me half to death, I would surely get her back for that, but she woke me up this early in the morning, making this the second morning in a row that I lost precious hours of sleep.

As I continued to glare at her, seeing that heartwarming smile, feeling that jubilant vibe she naturally gave off, and the shiny black fur on her back that would reflect the sun's rays and give an even brighter glow. I just couldn't bring myself to be angry with her, looking at her adorable face naturally made me feel calm.

Defeated in my ambitions for a world of better sleep, I sighed, dropping my grudge. "Heh, top of the morning," I told her.

"Hope I didn't scare ya too bad, I kinda like to play," she told me with her innocent smile as I crossed my arms and stood to my feet.

"Being cautious and having fear are two different things, just so you know," I pointed out, Dalieya only giggling at me as her response.

"Sure thing, big guy," she told me, adding a grin and bumping into my side again as I rolled my eyes and put a hand on my head, smirking.

"Just what am I going to do with you?" I joked, shaking my head as the two of us have a laugh.

Then, I felt a horrible feeling, it took over my body, mostly my stomach, and forced me down to my knees. As I gripped my stomach, pain showing in my cringing face, Dalieya's eyes shot open. Her face turning from a face of shock and confusion, to one of dread and fear. She stood at my side, looking over me as my head reeled over my body.

"Kenny! What's wrong with you?!" she asked, showing the fear she had in her voice, but the pain I felt made it feel like I couldn't speak.. But I still said something,"

"If.. I don't do something about this, it's all going to be over…"


	3. Friends Before Me

**Call From Another World**

 **Chapter 3**

 **AN: Hi guys, Double N here. So here's chapter three and I have to say it's a long one! I wanted to try and split it up but I could really find no good spot to chop it up. Sorry if it's any inconvenience.**

 **Disclaimer: Pokemon is owned by the amazing people that work at GameFreak. I only own my characters and my fan made region. Also, the song 'All of Me' belongs to John Legend.**

 **I hope you all enjoy, happy reading and leave a review, comment, or even suggestions and ideas for the story if you have time!**

* * *

 **Recap: Kenny and Dalieya have set off on their adventure for the first time as partners. They at first seemed to not see eye to eye. After a talk about themselves the previous night, not only did they have an understanding of one another, but they also seemed to have grown closer than what they knew was possible. Could this quick bond between the two mean something? Also, something happened to Kenny and neither of them want to see the outcome of it. What will they do?**

I continued to hold my stomach as I thought about the feeling I was going through. This was a phase I knew all too well, something I dealt with everyday… Except yesterday.

I looked over to Dalieya, her horrified face told me I was worrying her to death. She took me in her canine arms and held me tight. I at least managed to get something out of my mouth in my brutal state.

"I'm…so hungry," I told her.

Dalieya let me go and stared at me, her face had a blank look and she was silent for a whole minute. I looked at her, concerned why she had that look on her face despite the severe, agonizing pain I was going through. I would soon be met with a new pain that topped what I was feeling ten fold.

Before I could say another word, Dalieya smacked me in the head, hard, with her paw with what I assumed to be shadow claw. The pain was so intense that I nearly screamed as I covered my head from her brutal attack. She didn't do it to where she caused injury, but enough where it would teach me a lesson like a butt whipping.

My face felt like it was grinding into the dirt below as she continued her attack. "Kenny you idiot! You scared the life out of me why didn't you just say something to me!? Don't ever joke like that again!" Dalieya shouted through her attacks before she stopped, growling at me with an furious glare.

It wasn't a look I saw often, but when I did, it made me feel like I was shrinking in size. I sat up, holding the back of my head instead of my stomach as I was forced to looked at her angry face, disappointment swelling within me. I quickly apologized to her.

"Sorry… I just react to hunger differently from normal people. I haven't ate anything at all yesterday either.." I said, looking down to my feet. " _ **Note to self, don't ever worry Dalieya ever again,"**_ I thought, still surprised that she would have reacted that badly, then again… I have never expressed myself around people before, especially one who cared as much as Dalieya did.

The mightyena soon sighed as she watched me, I guessed that she didn't want to stay mad at me, though I'll admit she had a good reason.

"Well, I've only known you for a day, so I shouldn't get too mad at you," she told me before she started to giggle, almost as if that previous scene did not just happen.

A bead of sweat dripped down the side of my face before I stood up. I looked around the area for my bag that I tossed somewhere the previous night. Once I finally laid my eyes on it, I walked over to it, albeit a little on the shaky side due to my head still coming to from Dalieya's anger. I kneeled down to it and I unzipped it before I started to dig through the contents of what was inside.

If I failed to mention it before, my bag was rather large, so it could fit a ton of things inside. It made me think of how it was possible that pokemon trainers were able to stuff all of the junk they have inside of a single bag. Another one of life's begging questions that was too complicated for a mere mortal like me to understand.

"Awesome," I said to myself as I found what I was looking for.

At least the gluttonous part of my brain took this whole 'going to another world' thing seriously versus the rest of me. Sometimes I tend to think more with my gut than my brain.

I had nothing much in the terms of food besides sandwiches, inside of a nifty container that I brought for small food storage. This was mostly because I thought I would be on my own and not having a mightyena tag behind me. I would need to find a way to make some money soon so I could feed her as well as myself in the future.

Back to the sandwiches, I had pretty high standards, if one would call it that. Filled to the brim with ham, pepperoni, bacon, lettuce, and cheese. I would recommend it to anyone with a fast metabolism or if they just don't care about their health and want to eat for fun, both of those being me.

Dalieya walked over to me, tilting her head as she looked at the sandwiches I had in my hands. I guessed that she has never seen a sandwich before, or at least not like the ones I had.

"Here, try one, I'm sure you're hungry too," I told my partner, opening up the container and throwing the lid in my bag before I handed her one of my sandwiches.

The people I knew back at home would think I went crazy if they saw that I was sharing my food with someone, especially with the situation I was in. I didn't really mind, she was my friend and I wanted to be polite, and I didn't know when was the last time she ate. _I was becoming nicer._

Dalieya seemed a little hesitant to try the bizarre looking sandwich, but she started slow, taking a few nibbles out of the sandwich before she started to gobble the rest of it as if she were a turkey. I had to withdraw my hand before I could be bitten.

I split the meal between us half and half, though it wasn't much, a strong pokémon like Dalieya and a glute like myself put that in our bellies like it was nothing. Thank goodness for fast metabolisms.. Well it was more than that, because despite my lack of exercise, my body was still built rather well. Another mystery.

"Okay, I should've asked this way before, but where are we even going? And where are we in the first place, like region? Sinnoh, Kanto?" I asked Dalieya, looking towards her. Nothing around me was familiar compared to the games.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you. I know most humans call countries by regions or whatever, so, let me be the first to welcome you to the Axael region! Why is it called that? I wish I had a clue." Dalieya said, shrugging her shoulders as I raised an eyebrow.

"Sounds like someone just took two different words and mashed them together, how original I suppose. I can't do much better anyway, go on," I told Dalieya. Though I didn't mean any disrespect to her home, I still wondered who could come up with such a bizarre name..

Dalieya nodded to me, understanding my confusion. "Mhm, it's not a very well known region, but there's a lot of innovation and change that happens often around here. I've only seen a few places in my travels, but I can say that no place is the same as the last. From what I can tell, we're at the near end of the Verdant Plains, or Route 12 as most call it. It's a open field with few trees and plants that grow around as I'm sure you've noticed." she told me. I nodded to her as I absorbed all of the information into my memory.

"Okay. So where are we headed now?" I asked, looking off into the horizon as she answered.

"Looking over to the northeast, we should soon reach Occed City. The city itself doesn't have too much special about it as far as I know. They have stores, restaurants, probably just about anything you could think of. It's a good sight for trainers and tourists alike. A lot of people sure like to run around there though," she told me.

I could tell that Dalieya was rather shy about being around a bunch of people, being a mightyena, that wasn't too hard for me to understand. That's a rare thing we had in common.

"So that's where we're going. I have to admit it sounds like a pretty good plan to me." I said with a smile as I crossed my arms, letting the wind blow through my curly afro of hair.

"Yes. Of course, this is mainly so I could become your official first pokemon when we reach the pokémon center! At least your first real one anyway.." she said with a big, proud smile on her face. It could only make me chuckle.

At least she was pretty eager and motivated. I was liking her more with each passing moment I got to spend with her, making me wish I had met someone like her long ago.

I zipped up my bag and pulled it over my back, where I made sure to strap it tight. The two of us were ready to go, so we started to make progress towards Occed City.

After a few minutes of silence as we walked, Dalieya decided to speak up. "I was thinking about something,"

"Yeah? Like what?" I asked her.

"You said that your world only knows pokémon as a way of media, is that why you thought all of this was your imagination?" she asked, tilting her head as she looked up to me.

"Well…" I started to say, pulling together my thoughts. "I want to say yes, but that's only partially." I answered with a shrug as I placed my hands into my pockets.

"Oh? Could you tell me the full reason? I'm just curious, I don't want to be a bother about it," she told me, nervously giggling.

"Pfft, you're fine. I guess I like you enough to tell you a bit," I told her, still looking off into the horizon, seeing far away buildings come into view.

Dalieya was silent, waiting for me to speak.

"I guess I want to say that I'm a little paranoid. I overthink things, especially things that are too good to be true like this." I started, Dalieya staring at me as I continued.

"I don't tell people, but I'm scared to build relationships and be happy with something because everything can just disappear in an instant. People move on, forget about me and make friends that are cool or whatever. Wonderful moments could turn into hurtful memories. That's why I didn't want you around following me, I don't want to be that person who tries to be cool for someone and they become uninterested and leave." I told her, feeling my eyes slightly water up. I calmly closed my eyes, keeping my balance so I could keep walking without going into a breakdown. I couldn't tell that Dalieya had a frown on her face.

I never revealed these secrets to anyone, not even my own family. But it happens and I wanted to be ready for it. I was scared. Frightened even. I would ask myself what if I accepted all of this, Dalieya being my friend or something more. Being in the pokémon world. Then I would ask myself what if it was all taken away, as quick as it came. But here I was, having a friend to travel with me and I was enthusiastic about being in this world, it was already too late for those regrets.

"Ken, don't feel that way. I've known you for a short time, but you're perfectly fine the way you are!" Dalieya told me, pushing into my side in a comforting embrace as we walked. "I won't ever leave you, just be honest and be yourself around me. I… I honestly feel very special, hearing you open up to me. I can tell you've never trusted people because of things, but I promise you'll always have a person who wants you, even if I'm not around. You're never alone…"

I slowly opened my eyes, calming down a little as I looked down to Dalieya, a kind, warm smile was on her face as she looked up to me.

"You know, I'm glad to have made friends with you. You're the first person I ever talked to like this, and... I trust you. Someone like you really reminds me that there's good in the world, my world as well as yours. And, I should try and break my shell," I said, stopping in my tracks before I gave the mightyena a quick hug. She smiled to me, and soon returned it.

"That's the spirit, I'm glad you see it that way." she told me as we broke our hug. I wanted to make the best of my time here, no matter the reality.

The two of us would walk for what seemed like a half hour, keeping ourselves occupied with some conversation before we would finally make it to the big city the Occed.

 **Occed City**

My eyes scrolled around, scanning the city as we entered its borders. The concept of just strolling into a city like that was new to me, but I thought it was cool. It takes some people hours or days to go from city to city in my world, and their borders were connected.

It was needless to say that the city was huge, and it definitely looked like the home of many places to explore.

Buildings seemed to be an average of two to five stories high, while others were much taller. I couldn't imagine if there was normal housing around here, everyone possibly lived in apartments.

Looking around, I soon realized how right Dalieya was when she said people littered the streets like pest. Everyone seemed to hustle like football players, storming through whoever was unlucky enough to be in their way, either heading to work or maybe just a coffee shop.

The main problem was trying to figure out where to go, and with a majority of the people being taller than me, this meant I couldn't see a thing. Dalieya was of course at no advantage herself, and though her large size was rather intimidating, standing on her four legs gave her no chance.

"Well dang," I said before sucking my teeth. "Where do we go from here?" I asked, taking a moment to stand on my toes and scope through the area, still having little luck.

"You probably noticed, but I'm a little shy in a crowd," Dalieya responded, giggling a little with a tone of shyness as I looked back at her.

"I don't blame ya, this is nuts," I told her as I crossed my arms.

"I still know the way to the pokémon center from here, I can lead you!" she announced with a happy smile before she toughed out her shyness and made her way through the crowd of people. I followed her soon after.

A lot of unfamiliar faces stared at the two of us here and there as we made our way through the city. I continued to act casual, sliding my hands into my pockets and staring straight ahead, avoiding eye contact as Dalieya led the way.

I sped up my walking so I could walk by her side after the crowds started to lose more people as the minutes flew by. I guessed it was about eight in the morning, so everyone was getting to work, school, or whatever.

As the two of us walked, we walked near a guy who appeared to only be a few years older than me, by his side was a lucario, holding his hand as she nuzzled into his neck. The two of them stopped just when we were about to pass them by. They have certainly earned my eyebrow being raised.

"Oh hi," I told the two, not really being interested in conversation with them.

The lucario seemed to look between the two of us, I could not tell the expression she had on her face, but it was starting to unsettle me somehow.

"Hey, so that your girlfriend?" the man asked, motioning his finger to Dalieya. My eyes shot open as an embarrassing blush appeared on my face. His bluntness with that question being what scared me most.

Dalieya blushed lightly as well, though a small smile appeared on her face for reasons I could not explain. The lucario kept staring at us, more specifically at Dalieya. As the blue dog continued to do so, the blush the mightyena sported only darkened and she had a big grin on her face.

I finally got my head out of shock, as well as whatever was happening between the two female canines before I looked back to the dude, concluding that the lucario was telling Dalieya some type of secret through telepathy, it bugged me to no end because she probably knew I would be able to understand her.

"No." I tried to put flatly, crossing my arms as the lucario whispered something in his ear, the ear she whispered in had some odd bluetooth looking device inside.

When the lucario was done, she giggled and the dude laughed. What was with this odd pair?

"Oh okay, see ya around." the guy said to me before he walked off, as if he didn't ask me the most awkward question anyone ever could, his lucario still holding his hand as she turned back and winked at the both of us.

"Just...What?" I asked, scratching my head as I looked toward Dalieya. "They were like a-"

"Couple?" Dalieya chipped in. "Yeah, those relationships are accepted in the region. Useful to know, just in case you find someone you like," she informed with a giggle before I rolled my eyes, wishing that I had a hoodie to pull over my head.

"Just… Can we change the subject and go? You Axael people are one of a kind," I said, looking away from her with a blush on my face as I walked ahead of her. The thought, oddly enough, didn't bother me as much as it should…

The two of us walked for a couple of more minutes before we finally laid eyes on our destination. The pokémon center.

The building looked like it would estimate to around three stories in height. The only reason I knew it on sight was because of the nostalgic orange roof with a white poké ball painted in the middle. From there, I led the way into those automatic double doors.

As we took our first steps, we were met with the powerful winds of the air conditioner. It was a little chilly, but it felt great to be here. _Refreshing._

"So, what do we do? This is my first time being in a real center," I asked the hyena beside me.

"Well. I'm not necessarily your pokémon, meaning anyone could catch me, and I'm sure we would both hate that," she said, taking a moment to giggle. "Also, you would need to get registered in the trainer system, or whatever it's called,"

I nodded to her as her eyes rolled to the back of her head, she still didn't care about the human customs of some things, as she wished earlier that I could just become a trainer with a pokéball and be done. Nope, there's rules in life and they sucked balls.

"Sounds simple enough, I suppose," I lied. I didn't really know how the process worked.

I dropped my bag to the side to let my back have a rest before I stepped straight to the main counter, Dalieya stepping close behind me.

I noticed a lady standing at the counter, this must have been Nurse Joy. She looked a little different than what I've seen of her regional counterparts. Her pink hair was let down and went down to her back, and had green eyes. Her figure also seemed rather slim in the typical nurse outfit. I certainly hoped there wouldn't be exact copies across every center I would walk into. That was just going to be awkward.

Still, she definitely put the 'joy' in her greeting to me, so I couldn't complain at all, not that I was.

"Hello! Welcome to the pokémon center young man! What can I do for you today?" she asked me, I gave her a small smile.

"Uh, hey," I greeted with an awkward short wave, not being skilled at conversation. "Few things. First, I would like to be a registered trainer, if that's alright with you," I answered.

"Sure thing! That'll be just fine! I just need to see a little ID and you'll be all taken care of soon enough!" she announced with glee.

" _ **ID huh? Do I even have any valid info on me at all?"**_ I thought, nodding slowly to the nurse anyway despite not knowing for sure.

I walked over to where I left my bag, kneeling down to it before I unzipped a small pouch where I kept my wallet. When I reached around in there however, I didn't feel my wallet, but only a single piece of plastic that felt like a card.

I pulled out the foreign piece of plastic and examined it. It didn't look recognizable to me at all, and that scared me a little. Despite this, it had my name, my birth date, and other information that I didn't bother to look at after seeing the first two. I decided to walk back to the counter and give the kind nurse this 'ID'.

I watched her as she took the card and inserted it into this strange machine, Dalieya resting her paws on the counter as she watched, standing on her hind legs. A few minutes passed, the nurse typing away on a computer as we waited. The card soon slid out of the machine and the nurse handed it back to me.

I didn't notice any difference besides the foreign marking that was now present at the back of the card.

"Your parents must have it pretty well, money wise," Joy told me. This made me rather curious, especially considering I only had thirty dollars in my wallet before it disappeared.

I decided that the card was worth a little more inspection, this time I made sure to look at every detail.

 **Name: Kenny**

 **Age: 17**

 **Birth: XX/XX/XXXX**

 **ID #: 25935**

 **Registered: January 25, XXXX**

 **Money: 30,000,000**

"What!? Okay, maybe I just didn't read that right," I told myself, Dalieya tilting her head as I stared at the card. My eyes surely weren't deceiving me.

" _ **I'm rich! I'm so fucking rich...uh wait,"**_ I thought to myself as some logic came to my head. I told myself I could go through that money rather quickly in the world of pokémon. Those thoughts told me to hold my excitement.

Dalieya seemed just as confused, judging by the look on her face. Which reminded me…

"One more thing, I would like to make this lady over here my pokémon," I told her, gesturing to the gray hyena right beside me who gave me a smile. "You see, her trainer is... Well he's gone," I put in short, for Dalieya's sake.

"We partnered up just recently so I was wondering if you could do something," I said.

"Oh, I understand. I'm sorry for your loss. May you give me the trainer's name?" she asked me.

"It's Sanin," I answered, Dalieya having a small smile on her face. She seemed happy that I remembered his name, and she seemed to have come to ropes with what happened, so it made me smile too.

There was another few minutes that would pass, Joy typing away on her computer once again as we waited.

"Alright. Everything is set and done!" the nurse announced happily. "Only one last thing, do you have her poké ball still?" she asked me as sweat leaked from the side of my face.

Before I could give her the obvious answer, Dalieya hopped down to her four feet before briskly trotting over to my bag and unzipping a zipper with her maw before she started digging inside.

When she walked back over to me and rested her fore paws on the counter once more, I saw that she had an odd pokéball in her maw that was dirty and looked a little old. It was an apricorn ball from the design, and it looked like a Love Ball. _How odd._

"I wonder where that came from," I said to myself. It was possible she placed it in my bag while I was asleep.

I carefully took the ball from her maw and showed it to the nurse.

"Great! Everything is alright then! Would you two like a room at the center? In case you may want to go sightseeing?" she asked us as I pressed the ball to make it shrink and put it into my pocket.

I looked to Dalieya for her word. "What do you think? Wanna hang here for a while?" I asked.

The dark type next to me gave a bark and a happy nod, wanting to check out more of the city as well.

"Hold on that reminds me. Uh, Joy, you don't happen to have a map of the region do you? You could say I don't know my way around too much," I told her with a chuckle as I placed a hand behind my neck.

"Sure! Hold on," she told me before bending down, searching for something that was behind the counter with her.

When she stood back up, she held two maps in her hand, both of which were folded up rather nicely.

"I'll give you one for the city along with the region map! Courtesy of us at the pokémon center! Also," she trailed off, walking to a nearby wall where a bunch of keys were hanging in a neat little row.

She retrieved one of the keys before she walked back over to the two of us and she handed the key to me, which I took from her hand and placed in my pocket along with my card and the two maps. I hoped to soon get some easy to use digital map if I could find one.

"That's the key to your room, third floor and two doors down to the right," Joy said, giving me a smile.

"Thanks," I told the nurse before looking at Dalieya. "Let's go,"

I walked over to my bag and picked it up once again, strapping it onto my back before I headed upstairs, Dalieya following close behind. It didn't take much time to step our way to the third floor and find our room. Taking the key out of my pocket, I stuck it in what looked like the lock. After jiggling around with it for a few seconds, we heard an audible _click_ before walking inside.

 **...**

After the two of us stepped inside, we took a look around. It didn't seem as if there was much to say.

The room went by basic hotel standards, but instead of just the bedroom and bathroom, it was as if we were in a small apartment, as there was also a living room and a kitchen. Fancy.

When one would first walk in they would be met with the living room, a dark brown rug across the floor and tortilla brown walls, which were the color of most of the other walls in the place. There was a small couch and television set with a remote and all, as well as a window nearby.

Next to the living room to the right, was the kitchen. Being painted in pure white, it was the only room that wasn't tortilla brown. A small stove, sink, and table. The sink just in case you feel like bringing your dishwashing life to the pokémon center. Nothing special.

Walking past the kitchen would lead you to the hallway, where the bathroom and bedroom were. The bathroom was on the right wall with nothing special, just a tub, toilet, and sink. The bathroom and kitchen having white tile flooring.

Lastly there was the bedroom, where I proceeded to throw my bag. The bed was rather large, like a queen sized. The sheets that laid over it were a pitch black, and like the living room, the bedroom also had a window. There was also a little closet in the wall and I had to say. This place was alright, I couldn't complain.

I could only guess that Dalieya hasn't been a domestic place like this in a while. From what I could tell, Dalieya and Sanin were frequently on the move. I was at least happy that she seemed to be exploring the place, looking over every inch.

I was currently going through my bag, putting up whatever I could. While I was just about to hang up another pair of pants, I felt something weird in the pocket, an odd rectangular shape.

"Oh shit," I said to myself, pulling out the object from my pocket. It was my phone, covered in all black just like I remembered. I dragged my hand across my face.

"Why do I always forget you exist?" I told the phone, though it wasn't going to speak back. The phone seemed mostly useless, since I knew I would not only have no service, but I wouldn't be able to pay the bill. I only just got the phone recently.

"At least I still have my music," I said with a sigh, continuing to put up the rest of my stuff until I was finished.

I was about to step into the living room as I pulled the map of Occed, looking through it before I sat down on the couch, the cushion compressing due to my weight.

There were so many places on the map that I felt it was ridiculous. The map seemed pretty up to date, having all of the hottest places to shop, eat, celebrate special occasions, or anything else. It was a hassle to look through, but at least it was detailed and colorful, good for a person who has a short attention span.

I turned my head to the direction of approaching footsteps, seeing the bite pokemon finally come into view.

"Anywhere you wanna go?" I asked Dalieya, showing her the map before she looked up to me with a grin.

"You know. I really thought you would be an inside person," she told me with a giggle before I rolled my eyes at her.

"Yeah, usually. Boring an outside pokémon like yourself doesn't sit well with me. Though I could change my mind," I answered with a playful smirk.

"Alright you win," she said with a grin before starting looking over the map I still happened to have held in front of her. Her ears were soon to perk up before she pointed a place out on the map.

"Eh?" I asked, looking at the place she pointed to with her claw. "Why the mall?"

"Well, I never went before," Dalieya said, a small blush appearing on her cheeks as I raised my brow.

"Let me get this straight. So a powerful and battle hardened hyena pokémon who is more than capable of sending me nearly flying into a ditch by slamming into my side wants to go on a shopping spree? Sounds good to me." I concluded standing up and folding the map before placing it in my pocket.

The feminine canine yipped and ran around the house, ecstatic that we were going to the mall. I couldn't help but shake my head and chuckle. She was unique for a mightyena.

I briskly jogged back to the bedroom, slipping my empty bag over my back. This was just in case I ended up buying too much, and most people have told me it's impossible to go to the mall with a girl and not come out broke. It was time to test this theory for myself.

…

After a walk across town, following the map through tons of people and pokémon once again with Dalieya close by my side, we eventually found our way to the mall. The building was huge, much bigger and taller than most. When we walked inside, it seemed to be nearly as populated as outside, if that were even possible.

I looked around, taking in the sights. The building was just as huge on the inside. People and pokémon alike were buzzing in and out stores, huge bags being held in their hands. When I was a kid, a sociable one anyway, I went to the mall a ton of times with my mom. I was so easily amused by the fact we were surrounded by so much space despite being inside at that time. Every attraction, food stand, clothing store. I wanted to see it all, and being in the pokémon world only made it better.

Getting a better look around, I could see the mall had more than that to offer. There were also also a bunch of pokémon themed places to explore as well as extra for trainers. **Gasp**. Like me!

Since this was Dalieya's first time at the mall, she would be able to experience what I did every time I got the honor of coming. Looking at her, she sure seemed excited.

"So have you been to the mall before when you were back at home, Ken?" she asked, a big smile on her face as she made it known she was rather happy.

"Tons of times as a kid! There were just so many places to explore it was basically like still being outside. There's lots to do and I plan on having a good time!" I told her, a smile coming on my face as I stuck my hands into my pockets.

"What should we do first?!"Dalieya nearly barked, padding her paws on the tile floor below as her tail wagged furiously behind her.

"Actually, the exploring might have to wait," I told her, looking down at my clothes, just realizing how torn they were. It wasn't too bad, but it was noticeable enough for it to be a new look.

"We need to head to a clothing store,"

…

Luckily for two of us, there were maps of the mall just about anywhere one could look. Using those to our advantage, we eventually found our way to this store that sold pokémon trainer wear, as well as some normal clothing. I read the title of the store, _Train Your Wear_. The name itself made me groan, was there any escape for me?

"What were they thinking?" I told Dalieya before the two of us stepped inside.

When the two of us walked inside and had a good look around, everything I saw quickly made me forget of the horrible title. Almost.

There were so many different styles of clothing, so many shiny accessories for both male and female alike. I've never found myself so intrigued by clothing. There even happened to be a part of the store exclusively made for pokémon.

"Wow, they know style. That's for sure," I said under my breath, Dalieya nodding an agreement before a young lady approached us.

She seemed rather young, possibly about a year younger than me and she barely stood five feet tall. She had blonde hair, that was in a ponytail and her eyes were blue.

She wore a black vest, khakis, and a pair of sneakers. This was possibly their attire.

"Hi there. Welcome to Train Your Wear! We have the best clothes for the lowest prices," she announced happily, I smirked.

"Guess I'll be the judge of that," I said, crossing my arms. "Anything you recommend?"

The girl looked at me, as if sizing me up for that moment before she started to walk to another corner of the store, motioning me to follow.

Once we made it to our stop point, she presented this rather nice long sleeve trainer jacket that seemed like it came from Kalos' style. The colors were what caught my eye, black and with red stripes down the zipper and sleeves.

"I can't say I'm disappointed with that. Got black hoodies too?" I asked.

"We have just what you need," she said with a smile before going farther down the aisle we were in and soon picked out a plain black hoodie. It was perfect!

"Love it, now the price." I told her, holding my excitement.

The girl took a moment to look over the tags of the clothes, and she was quick in giving me a response.

"For just these, that just adds up to two hundred twenty dollars," she announced proudly, making my jaw nearly dropped to the floor. For two jackets, that's one heck of a steal!

I looked over to Dalieya, who I just noticed was just standing by my side. At the moment, it made me confused.

"You don't want anything? You're just sitting there," I told Dalieya, grinning as she perked up.

"You mean I get my own stuff too? How generous of you!" she exclaimed before running off into the store.

I shook my head with a smile on my face. " _ **She's such a kid sometimes, that's kinda cute,"**_ I thought to myself.

She reminded me of those times in a store when I was a kid, begging my mom to let me get something before she would give in and let me have it, yelling at me to hurry up and get it while she was at the checkout. The old days were ones I liked remembering most sometimes, but the new ones were definitely growing on me.

I went about my business, getting myself a few shirts, a few pairs of pants, a new bag and cap, some boots, and a red scarf...

"Holy shit, this store has everything," I said to myself as I held up the red scarf, holding it tightly. I felt like I could cry, for reasons no one knew or cared about of course. _Keep yourself together man…_

Unlike normal people, I got done with my shopping rather quickly since I already knew what I wanted. At these prices, I would have a lot to spare.

By this point, I was at the purchase counter, leaning my elbow against it as I waited for Dalieya. Luckily, she didn't take too long. There were a pair of goofy looking shades over her eyes as well as a pink bandana in her mouth.

"Black shades? Okay. But why...pink?" I asked, sweat leaking down the side of my face.

"What's wrong with pink? I like the color!" she muffled, tail wagging behind her as I scratched my head.

"Nothing I suppose. Nevermind. If you like it then it's fine," I said, not even realizing that the girl was staring at me as if I lost my mind, seeing a human talk to a pokémon wasn't normal still. Despite this, she was able to get a few words out.

"I think your mightyena would look adorable wearing pink, honestly." she said with a smile, Dalieya giving a bright smile with a blush to the complement.

"I guess it's nice to mix things up," I finally said.

…

After I paid for everything, we were out of there. Despite the fact that I've barely made a dent in my cash, I would eventually have to start finding ways to get more. For now, I would say that I was pretty lucky.

I started to pack most of the stuff in the bags, including Dalieya's shades which were safe inside a nifty case. Though I seemed to be missing one thing, and it was in the mightyena's mouth.

"Yeah yeah, I'll put it on." I grumbled to her as I took the pink cloth into my hand, though I was sure she could see the little smile I tried to hide, which made her smile too.

I bent down to my knees, pinching the edges of the bandana with my thumb and index before wrapping my arms around her canine neck to tie the cloth. Her body tensed up the moment my skin braised against her fur, but was soon to soothe itself, as if it were suddenly melting. In this position, I wasn't able to see a good look of her face, so I wasn't sure how she was feeling.

I soon fastened the ends into a tight knot, though not tight enough to harm her. Once I was done, I stepped back and stood up to my feet.

"How does it look?" she asked me with a straight face, though it seemed somewhat forced as if she were trying to hide a look of worry.

"Looks like that lady was right, you do look cute with it on," I told her, the both us suddenly catching on to what I just said seconds after. Both of us were starting to sport a blush.

Before I could attempt to correct myself, Dalieya beat me to the punch. "Do... Do you really think so?" she asked me, a small smile forming on her face before I nodded slowly.

I planned to keep my mouth shut for the rest of the day as we planned to head somewhere new. As I was about to pick up my new bag, something slipped out of it.

It was a tiny sheet of paper, and there was a phone number on it. I raised my brow and looked it over. "The fuck is this?" I asked, Dalieya tilting her head at me.

"Sorry for the language, but why are girls suddenly giving me their number?" I asked, a laugh soon following as I realized this must have been the work of the girl in the store. "People these days. Must be desperate I guess,"

"Desperate?" Dalieya asked, giving me the most befuddled look a mightyena could muster. "Why do you suggest that?"

"I'm not what someone could call a worthy companion, someone would have to have no taste to show interest in me. I fell for the trick before. Not happening again," I told her, looking straight ahead and sticking my tongue out to no one in particular.

Dalieya didn't say anything, being silent for nearly half of a minute before I noticed, making me concerned for how she felt, even if I were joking about myself. I didn't like it when she was like this.

"Okay, maybe I shouldn't say things like that anymore. I said I wouldn't, but-"

"It...it isn't just that, but…" Dalieya said, cutting me off as I looked at her.

"But what?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"Well, I'll tell you later.. I'm glad you at least like making me happy," she told me, her face going back to its usual smile. "So what should we do next?"

Though I was curious about that sudden moment of silence from her, I decided to drop it and resume with giving her a great first mall experience.

…

Time seemed to fly by as I showed the mightyena around the mall, mostly just browsing the stores for just the aesthetic. We were both amazed at how many places there were, and Dalieya would search around every inch. After we checked out the places the mall had to offer. Dalieya wanted to take a stop at the arcade, which we happened to be next to.

Like most arcades that were near my home, this arcade didn't have very much light, but it had a bunch of beautiful neon lights to give an amazing, mysterious, and colorful flare to the dark room.

I grinned as I stared at Dalieya's eyes, reflecting the neon lights that blared around us. This honestly made me a little mad I didn't bring my glow in the dark clothes. Then it would really make a party.

I decided to play a few of the arcade games with her, none of which were recognizable and were pokémon themed. Despite it all…

"I win again!" I told Dalieya with a huge grin as she grumbled to herself. I quickly found out that she was very competitive, and hated to lose, but at least she was a good sport, somewhat.

Dalieya looked around for something, anything to prove her skills before her eyes finally rested on something. My eyes did as well.

"Let's see how good you are at laser tag." she said with a smirk.

"Oh I wouldn't worry about me, I don't look like much but laser tag…" I told her, a chuckle following after. "That's my game, that I can promise."

"Oh you're on!" she said as we both headed towards the entrance.

The two of us were set up in gear. I had on a helmet with a green visor that covered my eyes. The vest I had on was black, outlined in blue. I smirked to Dalieya, tapping my laser gun against the palm of my hand.

She also had on a helmet, with holes where her ears would stick out. A red visor was over her eyes. She didn't wear a vest of course, the target being on her helmet instead. Her gun was stationed on the top of her helmet, since she had the advantage of heightened senses, she was said to still be able to aim well with just a turn of her head. She would fire the gun by giving a single bark, tuned specifically for a mightyena's voice, so no one could cheat and fire it with their own bark.

Though she looked a little silly, I couldn't help but find her rather captivating.

But seriously, we might as well be in Halo.

A few minutes later, the two of us, as well as a few other people and pokémon were inside of the field. Everyone was a one man team, meaning I could catch Dalieya as many times as I wanted to. We all had our hiding places as we looked toward the countdown clock. _3...2...1… Time to get set._

Without another second being lost, I sprung into action, taking cover behind every wall I could. I peeked out, seeing a hitmonchan and another human going at it with each other, I smirked before whipping out my gun and giving them a taste of a few lasers before I would duck away once again. Playing a lot of Halo can really get you hyped for things like this.

I could hear barks not far, and being that Dalieya was the only individual who could not carry a gun, I knew she was near, and I knew she was tracking me down. She probably had my scent. " _ **Lucky hyena,"**_ I thought to myself as I got on the move.

I kept my eyes peeled, searching anywhere I could for the quadruped pokémon. I got shot a few times, but I would dish back many more, causing them to retreat. I didn't know my score, but it was probably going to be a close match.

"Thought I wouldn't find you huh?" said a voice from behind before I noticed that I had a gun pointing to my back.

The girl who held it grinned, but before she could even fire, a bark rang throughout the area, and I saw that the girl's vest was blaring a light storm. "Shit," she said before she ran to duck for cover.

A smirk couldn't help but crawl on my face as I saw who saved my skin. "About time, I was starting to miss you." I said jokingly as I glared to the mightyena, unwillingly becoming captivated by her looks once more. I believed she was such a nerd, and I was starting to like it.

"We may be friends but not while we're here," she announced before barking at me, making her gun shoot an invisible ray of light at my chest and making the lights on it blare up.

I quickly caught the message, quickly taking cover behind the nearest wall as she closed in on me. She was dangerous and smart, two of the best traits to have in an adversary.

I didn't want to back down, not from her, and I didn't plan on it either. I whizzed around my cover and pointed my gun, only to find no one there. The moment I finally caught on it was already too late.

"Gotcha!" the hyena announced leaping from her cover as she shot a couple of barks and lasers at my chest, making it light up once again.

I tried to focus and center my gun at her head where the target was, but by the time I could, a huge buzzing rang through the field of battle. This signified that the game was over.

"Shit."

…

About a half hour has passed before we would be walking together through the mall again. Dalieya happily trotting with her hard earned prize, a big pretzel that I bought for her. She would soon gobble it up.

The two of us shared a good laugh with each other, happy about how our day went. I of course, was beat after such a big day. I forgot it was possible to have this much fun.

The two of us were about to make our way back to the pokémon center, but then we heard someone tap on a mic. And it was loud.

"Do they wanna say something?" I asked.

"Let's hear them out," Dalieya told me, panting slightly as she wagged her tail. I decided to go along.

"Yo everyone!" said this dude. He had long yellow hair and wore a pair of shades similar to what Dalieya had. He was tall, skinny, and had on a black shirt that seemed a little too big for someone of his stature. Reminded me of Shaggy.

"Don't forget to join us at Occed Square tomorrow night at seven for the firework show! You'll be psyched once you see everything we got planned! That's all I gotta say so peace dudes and dudettes!" The man yelled as his slinky arm waved into the air and held up a peace sign.

"Fireworks show?" I said, snatching the map I had out of my pocket and looking it over. _Whoops, wrong one._

I went into my other pocket, this time pulling the Occed map instead of the Axael map. I pointed a finger at where Occed Square supposedly was.

"Hey, that could be pretty fun! I've only seen fireworks once but they sure are beautiful," Dalieya told me with a smile before I chuckled.

"Like you," I said with a grin before my eyes shot open. _That was supposed to be a thought!_

"What was tha-"

I started to fake cough vigorously before she could finish her sentence, pulling the map over my blushing face. "Colds can be rough," I lied terribly. "But yeah, fireworks? Count me in." I said with a grin as the two of us made our way outside of the mall at last.

The night sky was coming upon us, the moon soon to replace the sun as Dalieya and I made our way to the pokémon center once more. Neither of us talked much, but I found myself peeking at Dalieya a few more times than I should have. Watching the way she walked as the orange and yellow evening lights bounced off of her fur, I had to admit it was a beautiful view.

It would seem as if she was peeking at me too, but my eyes were always a few seconds late to find out for sure. At this point, she was probably thinking that I was pretty weird, if I weren't weird already. I had to break this silence.

"Uh, today was actually really fun," I told Dalieya, rubbing a hand behind my neck as she looked at me. "Honestly, I gotta say thanks. I know I wouldn't have experienced all of this… if you weren't here,"

"I wouldn't give me all the credit, I had a fun day too, and that's mostly because you did it with me. I know I'll enjoy the fireworks show with you around," she told me, a small smile appearing on her face.

"Me too…"

…

I unlocked the door with its respective key before Dalieya and I were to walk into our room. Dalieya jumped onto the couch as I yawned and took a stretch, walking around somewhat aimlessly.

There seemed to be some complimentary food on the table, a few hamburgers and poffins. The strange thing was, I wasn't hungry.

I walked over to the table and picked up a hamburger, taking a huge bite. "That's room service for ya," I said happily.

I wasn't **that** hungry.

I already knew that I wanted to go lay down, but a shower was essential after a day like we had today.

"Hey Dalieya, I'm gonna take my shower. You can take the bed and I'll just take couch," I said, looking for any type of confirmation from her to make sure she heard me.

"Don't be silly. I'm not gonna make you sleep on the couch, a lady knows how to share. Don't argue with it either," Dalieya told me, a smile on her face.

Some part of me thought that I wanted her to say that.

I gave her a nod, a small smile on my face as I went back into the bedroom to prepare my clothes.

A few minutes would pass before I would find myself in the bathroom, turning the faucet and pulling the small knob in the tub before jets of water would shoot out of the shower head.

I ran my hands under the oncoming liquid, little droplets of warm water bouncing off of my hands and arms before hitting the tub below. Perfect.

I took off my shirt, throwing it to the side before I pulled everything from my pockets, including my phone.

"Might as well listen to something,"

I scrolled through my playlist, mostly filled with video game music with little of anything but. Not really caring to the moment, I tapped on the shuffle button before resting my phone on the counter. I slid off the rest of my clothes and stepped into the shower, a piano began to play from my phone's speaker, and I knew this was 'All of Me', by John Legend.

"Of all the-"

* * *

 **Dalieya's View:**

I carried the remote over to the couch in my maw, hoping something good would be on the tv. Kenny was on my mind the whole time, I only met him yesterday, yet it felt like I knew him my entire life. It made me happy that I was able to make him enjoy himself today, but how? He's the one who treated me to the time of my life, yet he was just as happy as I at the end of the day. Maybe happier.

Attachment. I felt that with him ever since we had that talk yesterday. Ken was nothing like that other person I met before him, though he wanted to be something similar. He wasn't mean at all, I could tell he was a kind person, that didn't know how to express himself. It made me wonder what, or whom, could have made him that way…

My claw clicked the power button on the remote. Looking up to the tv, it flickered a little before the screen came to life. I raced across the channels, looking the channel I usually liked watching whenever Sanin and I were at his house.

My ears twitched slightly, picking up another sound. It wasn't just sound, but it was music. It was coming from the bathroom where Ken was.

"I didn't take him for the music type,"

I was curious to know about the music he liked, what kind of music he had in his world. The sounds of the rushing water kept me from being able to really hear it.

Sneaking over to the bathroom, I pressed my ear against the door so I could take a better listen. I could hear the music a little better, but the door was very thick, making it hard to hear the lyrics. The music seemed soft and somewhat soothing, nothing I expected my human partner to listen to.

A few minutes passed before I noticed the shower water stopped running, signifying that he was done with his shower, but there was no trace of the music anymore.

I quickly made my way over to the couch, quietly so he didn't know that I was eavesdropping on him. Only a minute would pass before Kentral would walk out of the bathroom, having a wrapped towel over his head, which covered his eyes.

"All done," he told me, a small grin on his face but his face still seemed to be dripping with water, despite the fact it seemed as if he dried himself.

He was now wearing a white tank top, with black gym shorts at his waist. Though I found myself wanting to soak in how he was dressed, I was greatly concerned.

"Why is the towel over your face?" I asked.

"No reason, I just like the look." he told me, but I knew he was lying. "Anyways, I'm heading to bed. Goodnight."

His voice was now somewhat groggy and he gave a short yawn and gave me a small wave. I waved him goodnight as well, not wanting to bother him while he was tired after the day we had. That didn't mean I stopped worrying.

"Goodnight, I'll join you soon enough," I told him, a small smile on my face as he went back into the bedroom.

I sighed, knowing there was still something on his mind, but I had the feeling it wasn't just his past that bothered him this time. There was something else, and I had to know.

Making my way into the bathroom, I planned on taking a bath of my own. I knew how to work a tub if I had to. Being trained to use my dark energy in the way that psychic pokémon could use their psyche made me capable of doing a lot more than I could otherwise.

Using my shadow claw, my claws began to glow an eerie dark purple, my concentration building up as a phantom like hand extended from my arms. Using that hand, I was able to turn the faucet and the water began to run. I placed the tub plug inside of the drain, not interested in a shower.

A couple of minutes passed before I would call out my ghostly claw once again to turn the water off. Warm just the way I liked it.

Before I hopped in, I noticed that Ken left his things on the counter, including the phone I saw him with earlier. _Could this have been where the music was coming from?_

I stood on my hind legs and rested my paws on the counter as I looked over to his phone, I haven't seen one like it. The screen was still on, and a list of songs were on the screen. One of them were highlighted.

"All of Me," I said to myself, curious as to what the song was about. I guessed that this was the one he listened to.

Peeking out of the bathroom, I noticed that Kenny was already fast asleep. With a small smile on my face, I closed the door once more.

My hind legs stood on their own once more as I lightly tapped the play button with my claw. Seeing that it worked, I went to the tub and stepped in, letting the warm water melt away my worries, even if it were only for a few precious moments.

A harmonious piano began to play from the speakers. I rested my head on the rim of the tub as the dirt stuck in my fur began to fall off and spread in the water around me.

" _What would I do without your smart mouth?"_

" _Drawing me in, and you kicking me out."_

" _Got my head spinning, no kidding, I can't pin you down."_

" _What's going on in that beautiful mind?"_

" _I'm on your magical mystery ride."_

" _And I'm so dizzy, don't know what hit me, but I'll be alright."_

I was quickly catching on, realizing that this must have been a song of love. That means Ken was thinking about someone, but who was he thinking of? It wasn't any of my business but I wanted to know. I was starting to think more about him as I continued to listen.

" _My head's under water."_

" _But I'm breathing fine."_

" _You're crazy and I'm out of my mind."_

"Was...he a person who desired to be loved? To love someone? Oh I wish I knew what you're thinking, Ken…"

When I would be around him, I sometimes felt I was out of my mind too. Just meeting someone, and already liking them in such a special way. It felt, amazing, but it made me scared. Scared for him.

"' _Cause all of me."_

" _Loves all of you."_

" _Love your curves and all your edges."_

" _All your perfect imperfections."_

" _Give your all to me."_

" _I'll give my all to you."_

" _You're my end and my beginning."_

" _Even when I lose I'm winning."_

"' _Cause I give you all of me."_

" _And you give me all of you, oh oh."_

Was it true? Did I love Ken? Would anything else be a logical answer other than yes?

I wanted to impress him, and that's what I found myself wanting to do all day.

When he tied that bandana around my neck, his touch made me feel like I would melt. He was comforting to be around, even if he would constantly berate himself. It was the only thing about him I hated. Though he wasn't perfect to anyone else, he was perfect enough for me. I never knew why he gave off this feeling, but if he were to know how to accept a compliment, he would be a person that everyone would love to be around. But it was something that made him into him, and while his modesty was cute, it was only cute when used discreetly.

An end and a beginning? This song really was starting to repeat everything I knew.

Ken encouraged me to be strong, not physically, but mentally and emotionally. He was the reason I wanted to move on from losing Sanin, my love. He was the reason why I wanted to start a new life, with him as my trainer. Ken was that person Sanin wanted me to find, right before he would leave me forever, he told me…

"You will always find someone who will stay by you. I promise you'll always have a person who wants you, even if I'm not around. You're never alone…" I said quietly to myself as the song continued to play, I said it to him this morning.

I loved Sanin, but I was ready to move on, to show someone that they're special like Sanin had done for me. I didn't just like Ken, I genuinely cared about his feelings and wanted to make him happy, more than just a friend would.

Even if I lost at most of those arcade games we played today, I still felt like a winner. Not just because I won laser tag, but because I got to spend that special time with him. He seemed to be at his best, that side that most people didn't get to see. I was happy that I brought that side out.

The song continued to play as I remained in my thoughts.

I just wanted him to accept himself, what he told me in the mall broke my heart…

" **I'm not what someone could call a worthy companion, someone would have to have no taste to show interest in me. I fell for the trick before. Not happening again,"**

I didn't understand why he would say that, why would he put himself down like that. He was prideful, very much so, but that was why being social was his weakness. He possibly had a few friends, I hoped. It was like he just didn't know what to say to me. I wanted to tell him right then and there that I was starting to like him that way, but I didn't know if he would be into me. There couldn't have possibly been a chance, but he was a joy to be around for me, I couldn't help myself from thinking about him as something deeper. But I was scared to tell him, mainly because he would think I was lying.

But, he did say he trusted me… That was something good, and he even wants to break out of his shell. That lucario said there was something about him, something I should definitely be looking forward to. What was it?

I was silent for the next few minutes, the song dying down until his phone was mute, making me snap out of my thoughts.

"I'll do something about it, if anything, I'll make sure he never thinks of himself so poorly ever again."

"There's hope for you, Ken."

* * *

 **...**

 **Kenny's View:**

It was past midnight at this point, at least I was hoping so. The longer I got to sleep, the better.

My eyes fluttered somewhat as they started to open, I've only been asleep for a few hours and I was used to waking up once or twice a night.

When my eyes finally did open, I was met with Dalieya. The two of us were nearly face to face, if her head weren't closer to the crook of my neck. She was snuggled inside of the blanket with me, and her light snoozes went with the calm rise and fall of her chest, which didn't bother me at all.

While I wouldn't say I didn't like the position, it was almost rather awkward to be so close. I thought I was invading her personal space.

With that thought, I turned myself the other direction, but the moment I did, I felt a warming embrace push against my back. Though no one would see, this made me gain a confused expression as I turned back around, only feeling Dalieya lay her head into my chest as she snuggled into me for the extra warmth.

" _ **Is she awake?"**_ I thought, but I soon pushed the question out of my head.

" _ **I guess, she's trying to show me some kindness, I would be an asshole to deny her,"**_

"Okay you win," I told her as I looked at the smile she had on her face, making a smile sneak up on mine as well.

Without another thought, I wrapped the mightyena in my arms, accepting her warmth as I slowly started to drift to sleep.

 _Though Dalieya and I were just friends, I cared for her much more than any fake girlfriend I had. I guess that having a girlfriend wouldn't mean a thing if they were never your friend. That's what I had right now, a girl that was my friend..._


	4. Fantasy and the Reality

**Call From Another World**

 **Chapter 4**

 **AN: Hey guys, welcome to chapter 4. I apologize for the gosh awful wait, work has been busting my butt so hard and then there were shiny new video games waiting for me. I kept forgetting to post up this chapter. (I had it done for about two weeks now, hahaha-)**

 **Disclaimer: Pokémon is owned by the amazing people that work at GameFreak and Nintendo. I only own my characters and the fan made Axael region.**

 **I hope you all enjoy, happy reading and leave a review, comment, or even suggestions and ideas for the story if you have time! If you happen to see some grammar errors, please tell me. I hate reading through old stuff and finding those mistakes. It really makes me think** _ **people actually read it.**_ **Anyway, let's get into it.**

* * *

 **Last Time: Kenny finds out that he's in the Axael region and heads to Occed City with Dalieya by his side. The two check in to the pokémon center before going to the mall. They plan on watching the fireworks show that next night but they seem to have a lot on their minds.**

After a peaceful night of good sleep, the sun didn't take long to ruin it that next morning. The sun was shining, bird pokémon were singing, the roosters were crowing-

 _Wait, what?_

My eyelids batted a few times before closing again, but they were soon to snap back open as I realized there was a rooster in the city, as if we were on the countryside in a barn.

Sliding myself out of the sheets, I proceeded to slump my way over to the nearby window. I ignored the pain the sun would bring to my baggy eyes as I glared to the outside world. No matter how many daggers I would stare at the streets, people, and cars, not one rooster or anything chicken related was in sight.

I didn't know where it was coming from, but it sure wasn't stopping anytime soon.

"I was sleeping good for once, rrgh," I grumbled, having no choice but to remain awake. I was certainly hoping that I brought my headphones with me.

Looking back to the bed, I noticed that Dalieya was sleeping just fine.

" _ **A dog should have better luck at hearing this than me. How do you do it, Dalieya?"**_

 _Wait a minute…_

An evil smirk crawled on my face as the thoughts of yesterday morning played back into my mind. How she so flawlessly scared the crap out of me while I was asleep. While I didn't hold a grudge against my mightyena partner, it would be awesome to scare her back.

I started to walk back to the bed, at a slow and creeping pace. There she was, her head and some of her back being the only parts of her revealed from the blanket besides a single black paw. She was all peaceful, so happy in her sleep, it was going to feel so great to get her…

As I found myself staring at that small smile of content on her face, for some reason, I didn't take another step closer. She was vulnerable, she basically asked for it, and I wanted to do it. But I couldn't.

I sucked my teeth.

"I wanna get you back, but I'm a little better than that. I won't do it in your sleep. Someday, I'll scare the shit out of you where I could be satisfied," I said under my breath.

That smile she had, I didn't know what it was. There was something about that smile that could change my mood, my intentions dangerously quick. _I shouldn't worry about it._

Deciding to temporarily drop my ambition, I sat back on the bed. Crossing my legs as I sat Indian style, I just stared at Dalieya.

" _ **What is it about you? You make me happy all of the time and you enjoy it, asking for nothing in return. You're that person who could brighten up the day of anyone you would meet. Why are people like you so rare? And you're a pokémon,"**_ I thought to myself.

Was there really a difference between human and pokémon in this world? Being around her, I found that they have just as much of a voice as any human, and I only found that out because I was blessed with being able to understand pokémon.

I ran my hand through one of her manes, they felt so silky and smooth, my fingers couldn't have been happier to have the privilege of touching them. Her black manes reflected the light the sun would bring into the room.

She was a beautiful mightyena, and I was thankful to have her as my friend.

" _ **What did I do to deserve someone like you? I was put here because I was an asshole, right? Nothing's adding up, there had to be more to it than what I knew,"**_

I crossed my arms as I got lost in my thoughts. It's all I felt like I could do.

"Morning," Dalieya suddenly called from the blue, making me nearly jump from the surprise.

The mightyena added a cute yawn behind her greeting, her tongue flicking back as her maw stretched, showing her many fangs as she stretched her four limbs under the blanket. I finally came to from the shock and returned the greeting.

"Hey, sleep well?"

She gave a calm nod, which contrasted from her usual very active self. I was rather surprised I woke up before her.

"Sure did. Had the best dream ever," she told me, her tail visibly wagging under the sheets, making them move to a rhythmic beat back and forth.

"Mind telling me about it? Or is it too personal?" I asked her, genuinely curious.

"Well, uh, I'll tell you about it later. I promise." she told me, a small blush on her face. "You need to start getting dressed, silly."

"Can't say I didn't try," I told her jokingly as I grabbed whatever I needed in the closet to get ready for the day.

I proceeded to brush my teeth and wash my face inside of the bathroom before I would start putting on my clothes. I decided to wear my new black hoodie, a pair of jeans, and my normal sneakers that were still okay to wear. There would be a time and place for my trainer clothes soon enough.

 _Imagine hearing 'there's a time and place for everything but not now' every time you wanted to do something out of the ordinary. Maybe I'll bring my bike from home and ride around the room for a few hours just because it's possible._

Soon enough, I was all set and ready to go another day. What was the reason? I wasn't too sure yet. The fireworks weren't supposed to start until later tonight, so we had a lot of time to kill.

I soon joined Dalieya in the living room once again.

"We got time to kill so where do you wanna go? No point in staying here the whole day," I asked her.

"How about we get some breakfast somewhere?" she asked me, a grin soon coming to my face.

"Read my mind. Any plan involving food is my type of plan!"

"I could bet, I hope you don't gain weight, you'll need what strength you have." Dalieya said with a snicker before poking at my belly with her claw.

"Pfft whatever, I don't need your sass."

I stuck my tongue out at her before I swatted her paw away, the two of us laughing before I pulled out the city map and looked it over.

It took all of a few seconds to find a place that could possibly serve us some edible content. The description was rather vague but I thought that would be because of how much was already on the map.

It was only just passing nine in the morning, and the show wasn't going to start until seven at night. We had a lot of time to do whatever else afterward. Time was definitely on our side.

…

The two of us headed out of the room once more to go outside, heading towards the destination using the map for my lead. Luckily for us, this place seemed closer to the pokémon center than the mall, so there wasn't much time wasted in getting there.

As we made it to the restaurant, I took a look around. It was like this restaurant that was near my house back at home.

The restaurant had the name 'Occed Bistro'. From the looks of things, the seating looked like it was outside. Small tables along with chairs were around the front with neat umbrellas over them. Looking through the windows, the building looked like it was all for the kitchen. Details I wished I would have known before.

"So we sit outside? Sounds good! I would love the fresh air," Dalieya told me with a smile, obviously fine with this idea.

I would have rather been inside, but I guessed that it was a gamble to begin with. I found the idea of eating in front of random people on the street disturbing while Dalieya seemed to be taking it down easy street, despite being shy around a bunch of others.

Shrugging off whatever thoughts I had, Dalieya and I helped ourselves to finding an empty table. I pulled out the chair for Dalieya, who gave me a grateful smile before hopping in the chair.

"Why thank you, Ken." she told me with a giggle.

"Anytime,"

After pushing her chair in a bit, I went to my seat, which was on the other side of the small round table, and sat down. I couldn't help but become slightly intimidated by the situation.

If there would have been more people with us, I would have thought nothing of it. It seemed like we were almost on a date.

" _ **Alright, chill out. We're good friends, I couldn't possibly screw anything up if I tried. Just enjoy yourself,"**_ I thought to myself as I took a breath.

There was an awkward silence between us, our eyes just scanning at anything that caught our attention. A few minutes would pass before someone would finally come and give us our breakfast menus.

"Hi, welcome to Occed Bistro. I'll be your waiter this morning, Bryan." he said with a small smile and a wave.

Bryan seemed like he was in his mid twenties. His smooth black hair was combed, shiny, and obviously kept well groomed. He wore a black vest with a white collared shirt underneath and a red bow tie tucked around his neck.

"Thank you," Dalieya said, trying to mimic a British accent with her words to try to fit in, as if the place were that fancy. Still, it made me laugh.

I simply gave the man a nod of acknowledgement before he took our drink requests and left us to our own devices.

I picked up my menu and my eyes scrolled through the choices, though I didn't look too long before I noticed Dalieya having some trouble with opening hers. Those huge claws certainly didn't help her out, and it seemed so obvious, almost as if she was implying that she wanted my help.

I decided to be polite, taking her menu and opening it before I sat it back on the table, standing it up for her.

"Thanks, Ken,"

"Happy to help."

I returned to looking at my menu, and Dalieya looking at hers.

There were quite a few good picks that I personally wanted to try, all being super cheap. I could possibly have an all I could eat buffet, but I wouldn't go that far. Not yet.

There were fluffy buttermilk pancakes, fried ham and cheese omelets, soft and creamy cheesecake. _Mm, cheesecake. I'm liking this place more and more by the day._

"Yo." I called out to Dalieya, catching her attention. "Decided on what you want yet?"

Dalieya shook her head. "There's a lot of things I haven't tried here. But I would like to be open minded. Do you think you could help me decide?" she asked me, a small smile on her face.

"Sure thing." I answered, scooting my chair so I was sitting next to her and able to point things out on her menu. "I got a few suggestions, cheesecake being the main one. Ever try that?" I asked her with a grin.

Dalieya shook her head once more.

"I can recommend that, what else are you hungry for?" I asked.

"I think that's all I need, you're already starting to rub off on me." she told me with a giggle as I nodded to her while laughing a bit myself.

I proceeded to scoot my chair back over to my side of the table, at least until the hyena stopped me before I could finish doing so.

"Wait, uhm, I was hoping that we could sit next to each other. You know. We're pretty close friends and all," she suggested, a shy look being added to her face as a small blush came to mine, being rather flattered by the offer.

"Yeah, I was thinking that too, haha." I said with a chuckle as I scooted my chair back next to her. Dalieya seemed rather pleased.

Bryan came back to take our orders after a few minutes of silence. He had a small notepad and pen in his hands. "So what will you two be having?"

"Two slices of cheesecake for my friend," I told him, gesturing towards Dalieya.

Bryan nodded and and started jotting down the mightyena's order before looking to me. "And for yourself?"

"Single slice of cheesecake, some pancakes and bacon. That's all," I told him.

Once Bryan took our orders, he picked up our menus and went on his way after I paid him the money I owed as well as a little tip for his services.

"So Ken, you had dogs back at home right?" Dalieya asked me.

"A little out of the blue question, but yeah, why?"

"I was just wondering, so if I run around I know it'll be a fun game of tag!" she told me with a happy grin.

"Please don't do that here." I told her, not really feeling like tiring myself out for the day. "Otherwise, if you're asking if I'll play with you and train you and stuff than yeah, I intend to. I know better than to let your excess energy go untamed. At least you keep in good shape." I said jokingly. The two of us laughed.

About ten minutes would pass as the two of us went on about the most random of topics. It didn't take long after for Bryan to come back with not only our food, but our drinks too. That's sure some quick service.

After sitting the plates and glasses on the table, he wished us a good meal before walking off. I one day wanted to be able to learn how to cook my own things so I could eat as much as I wanted whenever I wanted.

Needless to say, I dug right in. It only took two seconds for me to snatch my fork from the table and dig right into the pancakes and bacon. The savory flavor of the bacon and the soft, fluffy texture of the pancakes exploded in my mouth. I could feel many sensations of culinary pleasure dance on my tongue all at once.

I looked at Dalieya to see if she was enjoying her cake. She seemed to be eyeing it and sniffing at it.

"Come on, it ain't gonna bite." I said with a grin before I realized once again, she didn't have hands. "Wait, do you need help? I shoulda thought that through a bit more,"

"Nah, I'll be fine." she said to me.

She lowered her head towards the two slices of cake before taking a bite of one. Her eyes slowly closed and her tail wagged behind her with a rhythmic swish, the creamy texture and the wonderful taste was enough to catch anyone's taste buds by a pleasant surprise. My partner was no exception it seemed.

"Mmm! It's so good!" she told me, practically squealing from the wonderful sensation of sweetness that overtook her taste buds with that one bite.

"Told ya," I said with a grin before Dalieya gobbled down that slice as a whole.

Needless to say that she was making a mess of herself, the barely solid slice of cake was around her muzzle more than in her mouth. She gave an embarrassed blush as she tried to lick her face clean. It was a good, but futile effort. Even the tongue of a mightyena wasn't enough to clean herself.

I chuckled to myself, causing her to give me a glare. Though she still had that smirk that told me that she was trying not to laugh herself. "Not funny,"

"I know I know, I'll help ya clean up." I said, calming myself down before I went into a laughing fit.

I took one of the complimentary napkins that were placed on the table in front of us before I used it to wipe her face clean of any traces of the cheesecake. I couldn't help but find it a cute scene.

"Thanks, think you could feed me the other? I know you aren't really the one that would feed a person but-"

"Don't worry about it, I'll do it. Just this once." I said, cutting Dalieya off as I took her fork and cutting a piece of the remaining slice of cake. "Here comes the train,"

"Hey come on don't do that!" she barked, pushing me playfully with her paw as her face turned dark red.

"I just saw the opportunity," I said with a chuckle.

Dalieya rolled her eyes before opening her maw, where I proceeded to spoon feed her, or fork feed. I felt a little ridiculous myself doing this, but who gets to feed a mightyena like this? No one I know.

"How pathetic," said someone, their voice not sounding far away from us.

"Huh?" I said to the unfamiliar voice, Dalieya's head following mine before we both rested eyes on this dude. A strange fellow.

He looked like he might have been the same age as me, his body seeming only somewhat fit. We seemed to about the same height. His cold, blue eyes glared at us while he wore a disgusting smirk on his face. His hair was black and spiky, and he was wearing a brown jacket with a white undershirt and a pair of denim jeans. His sneakers looked rather familiar, though I didn't get a good look at them before he laughed, catching my attention.

Dalieya turned away, not wanting to look at the boy. I returned the glare back to him. "What's your deal? We're trying to-"

"Save it," he said, raising his arm up and causing me to raise my brow. "I don't care, I actually have things to accomplish, unlike you."

 _Geez that was blunt. What was this dude's problem?_ Just as I was about to give him my retort, Dalieya pressed a paw to my shoulder, silently telling me that it wasn't worth it while still not looking at him.

With another snicker, the boy walked away, soon disappearing in the crowd of people that Occed always seemed to have littering the streets. I could see him shoving whoever came his way to the side, even I wasn't that rude.

I looked towards Dalieya. "Do you...know him or something?" I asked.

"Kinda, but he's a nobody, there isn't any hope for people like him…" she told me, a smile coming to her face as she looked at me. "I didn't want our time to be ruined, so he wasn't worth your time. I promise."

I nodded to Dalieya, finding it a little odd that there was someone she disliked. While I shrugged it off because I agreed with her, I got a feeling we would be seeing him again. I wondered where she knew him from.

A couple of more minutes have passed and we happily enjoyed our meal with nothing eventful happening. We were soon back to wandering around the city.

"It's still morning I bet," Dalieya said as we walked together "What do you wanna do now?"

"Well speaking of time, I need to get myself a watch, just in case my phone dies and there's no plug anywhere. Also, I wanna head to the pokémart too if there's one around, for various reasons." I answered.

"Sounds good to me!" Dalieya said with a happy smile.

…

Nothing out of the ordinary happened as the two of us did our thing. I was able to find a nice digital watch, fancy ones didn't really make the cut for me. As long as it's easy to read, it's good enough for me.

Since we found the local pokémart nearby, I did the shopping I needed to do there as well. Buying some potions, elixirs, heals, and whatever else I needed since I didn't know what could happen. It made me think about how I truly had no plan on what to do here in the pokémon world. It was something worth thinking about later.

 _It was high noon._

"Dang," I said as I looked at my new watch. "Can you believe how slow time is? We got seven hours still."

"Well anything you have in mind? I say we go back to the center for now, I'll find something to do after we rest up," Dalieya told me with a smile.

I nodded to her suggestion. "Yeah, I can get with you on that, let's go."

…

I did just any normal human would do in a situation like ours, sleep for four hours straight. My eyes were soon to flutter open as I found myself in the bedroom once more. I didn't take my clothes off besides my shoes but I was still in the sheets. If it was needed, I was a person capable of sleeping in outside clothes.

Looking at my watch that was still wrapped around my wrist, I saw that it was just passing four in the afternoon. I hoped Dalieya rested too, and didn't spend that whole while thinking of something for us to do. Though I wouldn't blame her, she was probably super bored.

"Ken! I finally know where we should go!" Dalieya screamed to the top of her lungs as she came running into the room. If my slight post sleep daze did not affect me at that moment, she would have scared the shit out of me.

I gave a rub to my eyes as I stood up to my feet, throwing the sheets to the edge of the bed. "Great, where to?" I asked.

Dalieya led me down the hallway as I stretched my arms, wondering what was this grand plan of hers.

"We should go roller skating! That could be fun," she said, looking back to me with a smile as she walked.

"Uh, roller skating. Sorry to be a downer, but I totally suck at that." I told Dalieya as the two of us walked into the living room, the mightyena giggling at my comment.

"Maybe, you just didn't try hard enough? You can't just say you suck at it." Dalieya told me.

"Hey, like you can do better. I tried a lot of times as a kid… Wait! Can you even skate in the first place?" I asked, crossing my arms as the hyena nodded cheerfully.

"Of course I can! Anyone can do it when they get used to it!" she told me, tail wagging behind her as I absorbed the words that just came from her mouth.

"There goes logic, or at least my logic. I guess we're going skating then," I told her, bringing a hand up to my face.

All the hyena did was give that happy squeal of hers, and it was enough to at least bring a smile to my face. I just hoped that I wouldn't embarrass myself too bad…

…

The two of us headed outside once more, and after a long walk, we finally made it. Thinking about it, this is the most amount of walking I've done in a week, let alone today.

The place was called Skates at C's, the second name to make me groan. Well, it wasn't that bad.

How was roller skating even a thing in the pokémon world? Then again, it was already proven too many times that Axael is something out of the ordinary from what I know.

The two of us walked inside, scanning the area surrounding us. People and pokémon alike were skating all around, minding their business and having the time of their lives. At least it wasn't ice skating.

Dalieya seemed ecstatic, she couldn't stop staring at the skating rink, watching everyone having fun before she looked at me. She was quick to notice the brittle expression I wore on my face. I had every right to be intimidated.

"C'mon Kenny. It'll be fun, it doesn't matter if you fall down a few times." she said to me, trying to encourage me as I paid for our skates at the counter.

Having a pair of skates for me, and two pairs of quadruped skates for Dalieya, the two of us walked over to an empty table where people would usually have food if they were having a birthday party or something.

"I'll keep in mind to say that to my butt when I do. I'm only comfortable enough to do this because you're with me, so I'll tough it out and try to have fun too." I told her with a chuckle before her eyes lit up.

"You mean it? That makes me really happy, you don't even know it!" she asked me with the biggest smile she could give.

"Of course." I answered with a smile before I kneeled down in front of her, holding one of the skates. "Alright, let me see your paw, whichever one."

Dalieya raised me one of her forepaws, once I found myself taking it into my hand, the two of us were looking straight at each other. Blushes covering both of our cheeks.

Her paws, they were such a pleasure to hold. Her gray paw pads on my palms, her claws gently poking at my wrist, just being able to hold her paw gave me confidence to take on an army with a hand tied behind my back. Holding her paw was wonderful, and she seemed to enjoy my contact as well.

It wasn't just simply wonderful anymore. Oh no, there was something more that I was coming to terms with. I had a crush on Dalieya. No, a crush is just admiring someone from afar who you don't really know. Half of the time a simple crush is just infatuation and lust.

I loved Dalieya, I knew that I did and could do nothing to stop it despite my many attempts to not grow too attached to her. Being around her gave me a strange feeling, one that seemed uncontrollable, annoyingly so. Was I saying it was a bad thing? Certainly not. I loved to feel her fur, hug her more than I should. Nothing I ever felt before could compare to what I felt now just by having her by my side and in my thoughts.

Was it possible that she could have these same feelings for me? I doubt it.

After a few minutes, I was just about done with her skates. I sat down on the floor so I could do my own.

Once I tightened the laces on my second skate I slowly stood up to my feet, my legs giving a slight wobble before I proceeded to slip on absolutely nothing, my leg nearly sliding off of my body. I anchored my feet to the floor, trying my best to stand without slipping and falling all over the place.

"Come on Ken! You ready for some fun!?" Dalieya called.

Struggling to keep my balance, I looked over to the skating rink where I heard her voice to find her skating. She skated much better than I could walk right now. It was crazy, to find a hyena skating in front of my face and that I still couldn't do it.

I was beginning to wish that roller skating was a dead thing like it was back at home, because I knew I was soon to embarrass myself badly.

Attempting to ease myself into it, I took slow and heavy steps until I would finally reach the skating floor after about two achingly slow minutes. Attempting to balance myself on the floor only proceeded to make my legs quiver almost violently as if they were made of jelly. Not wasting any time, I quickly grabbed on the nearest rail for support, giving an exasperated exhale after doing so.

Dalieya giggled as she skated by me like it was child's play. I lowered my head and groaned, needless to say I was rather flustered.

"I look like some kind of old man." I told Dalieya with a glare.

"Don't say that, it can be super easy when you get used to it. You can't be scared to try." she encouraged me with a smile as I glared daggers at the hyena.

"Who said I was scared?" I nearly growled. "...I'm not scared, I'll just find my balance and you'll see."

I forced my muscles to push me off of the rail before I tried to stand on my own two feet. Of course, that quickly proved itself to be a terrible idea that sent me zipping across the skate floor like a slingshot.

"Holy shit!" I screamed as I tried to catch my balance as my body spun and twisted wildly, my efforts to save myself were fruitless.

Dalieya held her breath as dozens of people had to escape from my path, but there was one guy that wasn't so lucky. With no time to warn him, I crashed into him, sending us both crashing to the floor.

"Hey bozo, how about you watch where you're going." the man said to me, pushing me back before I could even attempt to stand up and apologize.

The man looked as if he were in his mid twenties. He wore ragged, tattered black clothing of a t-shirt and jeans, as well as black sneakers to match. His brown hair was shaggy and soiled. Possibly just some random Occed punk.

Needless to say I was already vexed with the shove he gave. It was rude, but I was in no mood to pick a fight here.

"Watch it dude, he's just a kid," another person told the man, standing up for me as I tried to get on my feet, with a bit of a struggle. The man ignored him as he continued to glare at me.

"Don't worry about it, I'll be fine. Still, thanks." I told him, speaking for myself before I finally got on my feet, albeit a little on the shaky side still.

"You not gonna be if you don't watch your step next time kid." he sneered, pointing his finger into my chest before I slapped his hand away, giving him a look of disdain.

Before I planned to just leave him there and be on my way, a deep snarl caught everyone's ears who was present.

Dalieya ran next to me, skates now off and to the side. She bared her fangs as her lips curled back, showing her vexation and fury, her eyes burned with what looked like the desire to murder. I've never seen her this angry before.

"Keep your hands off him!" she roared, her face being livid with anger as she advanced on him. No one probably understood what she said, but it should have been implied to not make the mightyena angry any further.

The nameless man only gave her a look of disdain before he looked back to me. I tried to calm her down, resting my hands on her fur which was standing up on end. My touch seemed to make her loosen up, and her snarling was ceased.

"Better call back your damn mutt,"

Those words, they made my body freeze. It felt as if every last brain cell I had withered and died away, because I couldn't believe the vacuous comment I just heard sneak past his lips.

"What the hell did you just say?" I told him, feeling a dirty scowl crawl on my face as I stepped closer to him, completely ignoring any lack of balance I had. "Talk shit about me all you want, but don't ever call her a mutt, don't say anything about her period. Otherwise you will regret it."

Any sympathy I had for this man went out of the window the moment he said that. The one person I had to call friend being insulted by some filthy punk? I wouldn't take that sitting down.

The man snatched my by my hoodie and pulled me close, where I had to hold my breath of the rancid odor that expelled from his mouth. I was surprised I didn't die right then and there and respawned to my last save point as I groaned, just wanting to get away from his face.

"What are you gonna do about it?"

I wish I would have seen it coming sooner, but the moment he snatched me, Dalieya snapped like a weak twig.

Dalieya lunged at him and chomped down on his leg, sending a bit of blood squirting over her face and our legs as her many fangs sank in.

The man's eyes snapped open as the sudden intrusion of her fangs and agonizing pain shot through his body like a rocket. He howled in agony, his hand loosening its grip on my hoodie and letting me go.

I fell on my butt as I watched the scene. _Apparently I didn't have to do a thing, but I couldn't just let Dalieya have at him, even if I wanted to._

The man was cringing up so bad from her bite that he didn't even try to pry her off of him, and Dalieya probably wasn't even done with him.

"Hold on, Dalieya, I'll handle this." I called to her.

With that, Dalieya practically yanked her fangs out of the man's calf, causing the man to give another howl of pain as I noticed the many visible punctures inside of his pants, each pouring their own stream of blood.

"You better have a good reason for me to stop, he shouldn't have touched you that way."

I nodded to her, taking a step forward to man the man who still stood, holding his leg as he glared daggers at the mightyena.

"I'm glad you still have the balls to stand on your feet and give a look like that to **MY** Dalieya. What would it be like lose those balls?" I told him, tapping a finger on my chin, not even knowing that what I said really brightened a mightyena's day.

"What the fuck are you talking about? Shut up…" he said, spitting on my skate as I continued to glare at him, a demonic smirk crawling on my face.

"I sure do suck at skating, but now I know what else I can do with these skates,"

Without giving the man a moment to think about what I said, I swung my foot smack dab into his nuts. Dalieya, as well as some of the other people that were around went wide eyed, probably not expecting me to perform such an attack. The man's senses spiked in the worst possible way as he screamed to the heavens before doubling over and gripping his filthy little package as his face cringed up. _I hope adding the boot wasn't too much._

Without saying another word I walked towards Dalieya, wobbled more like since my clumsiness was reappearing like a magic trick. I kneeled down and took the mightyena in a hug as her mouth hung open. I chuckled a little as I wiped her mouth and face clean of the man's blood.

"I'll kick some ass for you too, I care about you as much as you care about me." I told her as I tightened the hug. Dalieya rested her paws on my shoulder as she returned the hug.

"Thank you...Did you call me, your mightyena?" she asked, a genuine smile forming on her cheeks as her tail swished behind her.

"Sure did, wouldn't have it any other way."

Suddenly, there was clapping, a roar of applause that filled the skating rink. Looking around, everyone we saw were around us cheering. That, I found odd, because Dalieya would have probably killed him with no regrets, and I felt like kicking him in the nuts was a little extra, looks like he wouldn't be banging anything for a while. He was an asshole, so I didn't really care. Guess there was still joys to being a kid.

Without another gracious second to pass, two men in blue uniforms slammed the doors opened as they stormed inside. They were police it seemed. Both of them being rather tall and muscular with small mustaches over their lips and shades over their eyes. Nothing much to say about them, I just hoped I didn't go to jail.

"Alright alright, what the fuck is going on!?" the first officer questioned, looking at no one in particular. A drop of sweat dripped down the side of my face as he looked at me.

Before I could even make up a single sentence however, the people that surrounded me began to speak up.

"This, heathen," someone spoke, pointing to the man who was my previous aggressor. "Tried to beat up this poor kid."

"He even snatched him, so his awesome mightyena protected him!" another said.

Other comments were made about the event that just happened as I looked between everyone, the cops nodding at everything they said as they took down some notes. This amazed me.

Usually, I wouldn't be too fond of the idea of people standing up for me like this, but looking at it all, made it known life was going to change. It felt good.

With the officers stopping the commentary for a moment, the second one walked over to me and rested his hand on my shoulder.

"You and your mightyena certainly make a great team, kid. You know, when you're a bit older you should stop by the police station. We could give you some good training." he said to me with a grin, giving the both of us a thumbs up as I couldn't help but smile. "One more thing. Do you wanna press charges on him?"

"Of course I do, I could sure use that money." I told him with a big smile. Yeah, being a kid really had its perks.

"I'll let you go ahead and have your fun for the night, just come see us tomorrow afternoon." he said.

With my nod, the officer walked over to his partner before they both would snatch up the man by his arms and drag him away. Oh the irony. I tried my best to not burst out in laughter, Dalieya seemed as if she was trying to keep herself from doing the same.

With a few murmurs coming from the crowd, most of the people wished Dalieya and I well before they went back to their skating, minding their business once more. It was rather nice of them to be so considerate.

"Hey Ken, I got a fun gift for you. Come on, help me put my skates on again." she said with a big smile.

I didn't have a problem with helping her out again, but as I slipped on her last skate I wondered what this 'gift' would be. The moment I finished, she stood in front of me before she turned around.

"Hold on to me." she said, looking back to me with a smile as I raised my eyebrow.

"Why?" I asked.

"Come on! Do it! And you better hold tight." she barked happily, her tail swishing back and forth as I stepped behind her and got a good grip around her torso, a blush coming onto my face as I tried not to hold her too tight.

Without another word, Dalieya's legs went skating into maximum overdrive as she carried me around the skate floor, the wind she made blowing through her fur and my hair. I gritted my teeth, I was scared for my life with how fast she was going, but I was starting to like it a little, and found it fun.

"Hey, you better slow down! I swear you have to be the strongest mightyena around to yank and sling me around like you do!" I told her with a laugh as she was still able to elegantly skate around others with ease.

"Hey I'm just strong enough! I told you we were gonna have fun and I'm gonna make sure you do!" Dalieya said with a giggle.

Everyone around us stared at us in amusement. I would usually find it rather embarrassing, but for once I just focused on having a good time and nothing more.

…

Hours would pass, Dalieya helping me skate, buying a couple slices of pizza pie and all of that fun stuff. The evening light was soon to take over the sky.

We had to give a farewell to our friends that we made in the skate place, for we had plans. Heading south to Occed Square, we planned to watch the fireworks show, what we've been waiting for all day.

The sun was setting, the orange and yellow lights were soon to be blacked out by a void of darkness and the stars that would light the way.

 _This was that time of day where people would reflect on what a day they had, or how their life has changed. Either for the better or worse._

 _I was never the person who took much opportunity to reflect on myself, and it has been years since I cared enough to do so. But that was before things changed._

 _There's a strange secret in all of this. Most of the things that I've done here so far, if not all, I could've done at home. It was honestly thanks to Dalieya that I was seeing a brighter light in this darkness, she was the reason that I started to look at things differently. Actually, that's no secret._

I found myself staring at Dalieya as we made our way to town square, I just couldn't get enough of how the evening colors the sky brought us would reflect off of her shiny black fur. Her eyes were just the most beautiful, getting a gaze from them is enough to make my blood freeze, not that it was always a bad thing. Her body and attitude was only the base of how powerful and proud she was. Inside, was a heart, bigger than any I can imagine.

 _Intelligent, beautiful, affectionate, selfless and kind. How could a guy ask for anything more in not only a friend, but maybe something bigger._

 _Why was this mightyena always on my mind. Sure, we would spend everyday together since we met, but I rarely find myself able to think of anything without inserting her in the situation._

 _That friendship that we had, that appeared that first night we spent together, it was starting to evolve into something greater than I would've liked. She was not just an animal, not just any random pokémon. Her name was Dalieya, a partner and great companion who would always stick by my side until the end of time._

 _The two of us have shared laughs, tears, fond memories, all of that in the few days since we've met._

 _Was love between a human and pokémon possible? I certainly had no clue at this point, but it didn't bother me like it should have. I was able to understand her sentient and genuine thoughts, she has feelings and has felt more loss than any normal person would take. Yet she still strides to make me happy, only because I was her friend. Despite all she's been through, she makes the best of her time with that dazzling smile. Even if she wasn't human, she seemed more human than most people I've met, including me._

 _When her paws would wrap around my neck, i would hold her, never wanting to let her go. Someone like her in my life? She was too precious to let go. I would never meet another like her and I knew it all for a fact._

 _It was the first time, I truly was starting to feel what love felt like. Not just from a parent who's obligated to give it to you, but from a person who just loves you and wants to help make your life better. I felt special having her as a friend, and for once, I wasn't worried about losing her, even if the absence of worry would only last one amazing second._

Dalieya sighed, bringing her head up to watch the evening sky. Nightfall was nearly upon us by now.

"Something wrong?" I asked, noticing the sigh she gave before she looked at me, giving that smile, but she seemed much more laid back than usual.

"Not at all. I was just thinking of how great you made the past few days for me. You really helped a lady out through these hard times." she said with a giggle before I found my face blushing.

"Wasn't expecting that answer,"

"Truthfully. You put yourself down a little too much. I don't even think you could keep up that distant act anymore, you're really becoming one of the nicest people I know."

Dalieya laughed as I pondered over her reasoning, not to guess if she was telling the truth, but because I was still getting over someone saying such a kind thing to me.

I chuckled, looking at her as we walked. "Yeah, I guess so."

With a small smile on my face and a fire in my heart, I took a look at my watch. We were making pretty great time with a lot to spare.

The sun would soon finally set, night time consuming the air as we made it to town square.

Town square turned out to be an open grass field that was near the center of town. There was enough space for the couple dozen of people that decided to come to lay in their own space, away from intruders and to enjoy the show in peace. Good enough for me. If not. Perfect.

Dalieya and I were soon to find our own spot that we could have for ourselves and we took a seat on the soft grass below.

I rested a hand on my chin, taking a look at the sky above, as well as the people around us.

"What are you thinking about?" Dalieya asked, my expression being a dead giveaway that I was lost in thought.

"Do you think we should have brought some snacks?" I asked, Dalieya almost going into a giggling fit, making me grin.

"I know I don't need anything. As long as you're here I need nothing more." she told me, giving me a warm smile as she blushed.

We sure did blush a lot.

"I would say the same. But as much as I love being around you, I'm getting a little hungry," the both of us laughed after that, Dalieya pushing me with her paw.

"You know, I hope you never change."

"Don't worry, I didn't plan on it." I said to her, taking the chance and scooting a little closer to her. To my surprise, she only pressed herself against me, a content smile on her face as she stared into my eyes. I could feel my heart almost explode from the look she gave.

As the two of us gazed into each others eyes, a gaze I hoped to never be broken, a voice called out after tapping on a mic. This caught everyone's attention, including our own.

"Yo, sorry for the delay people. The show will begin in about ten minutes. Got some technical issues and stuff." a person called from atop of a stage, the stage being something I only just noticed. There was obviously more planned than fireworks alone.

Everyone groaned, slightly annoyed that the show they came for was being put on hold. I didn't really have anything to say about it.

"Hey Kenny?" Dalieya asked, looking up at me.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Come with me, I want to show you something. It'll give us something to do while we wait." Dalieya told me before she stood to her feet, tail swishing behind her as I followed suit.

"Okay. Where to?"

…

Dalieya and I walked, not far from town square at all and we still were relatively in the middle of the city.

As the two of us would finally reach our destination, my eyes rested upon one of the most beautiful fountains I have ever seen.

The fountain seemed to be carved completely out of stone, in the shape of a pillar. There was a statue of something standing atop that pillar, it seemed to take the shape of a dog with something that seemed like a diamond on its forehead. Water shot out in sparkling jets into the basin of water below. The basin that held a pool of water had lights built inside, giving the whole fountain a beautiful white glow that shimmered over Dalieya and I.

"Beautiful. Isn't it?" Dalieya asked me with a smile as the two of us stepped closer to take a closer look. "I saw this statue the first time I came through here, and I thought it would be a good thing to check it out again,"

Dalieya rested her fore paws on the rim of the basin, I followed suit. There were words engraved on the statue, which I only saw thanks to the lights. _Those who believe in themselves are the kings of the earth even after death, for those who may not, will forever be lost in darkness never to know their true strength._

What did that mean? Who was this unnamed canine on this statue? Did it really have anything to do with me? Guess not.

My thoughts quickly became a distant memory the moment I felt something lay on the back on my hand. Looking down, I noticed it to be Dalieya's paw.

The moment I noticed however, Dalieya withdrew her paw, a blush on her face as she did. Once again, I only noticed because of the white light surrounding us.

After a moment's hesitation, I cupped her paw in both of my hands, being mindful of her claws of course. Dalieya looked at me, it was a beautiful look. That small smile she gave me was changing my world for the better, and I knew I had to tell her. No more fear, no hesitance.

But...My nerves were getting the best of me.

"Oh wow, look. We're holding hands and stuff," I told her, an awkward laugh following before Dalieya tilted her head at me. I mentally groaned, I had to somehow force myself to tell her.

Dalieya never took her eyes off of me during my embarrassing minor break down.

"Kenny. If you have something you want to tell me, then just tell me. Because, I was thinking about telling you something too, and I want you to feel comfortable," Dalieya told me, her genuine smile never leaving her face as her gaze froze me in place, but I wouldn't let myself get deterred so easily.

Seeing that beautiful face, her marvelous features coated by that shimmering white light reminded me of who was giving me strength.

"Dalieya," I said, taking a deep breath as I let my confidence take place of my timidness. "I have feelings for you. Deep feelings that I don't even know the depths of. It's gonna be tough to explain, but I'll try to,"

Dalieya was silent, stilling staring at me though her face was slowly becoming blank as she thought about what I was trying to tell her.

"I don't need to remind you that you're the first person I met here, and the first friend I've made in a long time and how special that makes you. I trust you, more than I understand, and you obviously always have my back when I need you most. Honestly, you've taught me life still has things to offer and to appreciate the people I meet, you're the one person who makes me see that, and I could never live with myself if I were to lose your companionship." I told her, holding her paw to where I could never let go.

Dalieya's smile was quick to reappear on her face, one the biggest smiles ever. She laid her free paw on my upper hand as she looked me in the eyes.

"You really mean that? That's the sweetest thing I have ever heard from you." she said as she nuzzled her head into my chest affectionately.

"That's not the half of it," I said with a small smile as Dalieya looked back up to me. "I've always wanted to tell you how you're one of the most beautiful pokémon I've ever had the pleasure of seeing. Your eyes, your smile, how you walk and how your fur would blow in the wind. I feel weird, no… Not weird, I just feel overwhelming happiness when I get to see your face. I know I don't give that off those feelings easily, but you've got more class than most girls I've met." I told her.

My genuine grin followed my words as a blush covered my cheeks, it certainly felt good to release my feelings out to her without a care whether she would reject me or not. But I got a surprising response.

"Ken, I… I think I feel the same way about you. I mean, you're kind and a good listener and you let me accompany you on your quest to find your way home. With your pride being pushed to the side for me, it makes me feel so special. You've helped me in my darkest hours to escape my past and you make me want to plan a new future with you by my side. You calling me beautiful is something that makes me so happy, I can't even explain it." she said happily, a paw covering her face as she seemed as dark as ever with the blush she sported.

I honestly didn't expect her to let it sink in that well.

"The way you look at me everyday fills me with joy. Heh, I would never get my hopes up that you would like me the way I like you. Especially when you didn't seemed too thrilled to meet that lucario and that guy…" she said, looking down in embarrassment as her ears flattened against her head.

"That means I should just stop beating around the bush and tell you. Dalieya, I love you." I said to the hyena, smile on my face as her beautiful crimson eyes found their way to mine. Her eyes were shimmering beautifully as my words sunk in.

"I love you too, Kenny."

Without another word, Dalieya's muzzle slowly inched to my lips before she locked us together in a soft kiss, a kiss that would threaten to make us burst from the happiness the two of us shared.

As if on cue, the sky was now filled with the lights that came from the fireworks, lighting up the sky in a beautiful mash-up of colors that reflected on our skin and fur. Dalieya and I broke from our kiss to watch the show, her head resting on my shoulder as she nuzzled me affectionately. There was no place I would rather be. This was the first time either of us have seen fireworks in a long time, and we got to share the long awaited experience together.

The two of us sat on the ground below, intending on watching the show from where we were. Dalieya snuggled as close to me as she could get without squeezing the life out of me, and I felt comfortable enough to wrap my arms around her, feeling the wonderful warmth her fur and love brought me.

If I had a tail like Dalieya had, it would be wagging for sure along with hers. There was something that came to my mind.

"Do you think, if I were to go on a journey-"

"Of course I would travel with you, we're a team. This time more than ever, so I'll never let you leave anywhere without me to help you." she said with a giggle after intercepting my sentence.

I gave her a small smile before she licked at my chin, showing the love she had for me before we continued to watch the fireworks. Music seemed to play from town square though I couldn't hear it too well.

We sat in each others embrace in silence, just enjoying the company of the other. I was lost in thought about our future together as not only partners, but lovers. Dalieya seemed to be lost in thought too. I wondered what she was thinking about…

 _Unknown to Kenny, Dalieya was pondering on the dream she had that morning. Kenny being in danger from the person who ruined her life before she met him. But it was no nightmare. She was able to save him, and the two did nothing after besides what they were doing now. Loving each other, and never letting the other go. It was a dream come true…_

* * *

 **Notes: There you all go, Chapter 4, I hope you enjoyed. So we're actually going to be getting into some of the actual plot by chapter 6 or 7. If you're waiting for lemons, then that's probably gonna be somewhere in chapter 7-10. I have a lot of editing to do before it's all confirmed. Leave a review on what you liked or disliked on the chapter, it helps this rookie get better. Anyway, see you all later, I'm taking a rest.**


	5. The Walkthrough

**Call From Another World**

 **Chapter 5**

 **AN: Hey guys, welcome to chapter 5 of CFAW. I don't have much to rant about or whatever this time besides the fact that I'm so sorry for that long wait. Let's get down to business.**

 **Disclaimer: The marvelous people at GameFreak and Nintendo own Pokémon. I just own my characters and the fan made Axael region.**

 **I hope you all enjoy, happy reading and leave a review, comment, or even suggestions and ideas for the story if you have the time! We've got a few more followers since my last update and I would like to know what everyone likes about this story so far. If you see any grammar errors, please tell me, it helps a lot. Anyway, let's get into our Axael adventure!**

* * *

 **Last Time: Kenny finds out there's more to pokémon in this world than he imagined. Him and Dalieya get some breakfast, meeting some kid Dalieya happened to recognize. They go roller skating, Kenny kicks some dude in the nutshack. That night, Kenny and Dalieya share their first kiss and become lovers.**

 _The morning following was a rare one, a morning that didn't bite my ass. It was one of the best mornings I have ever had in fact! I didn't have anything to complain about, which was a great blessing. The best part being that I wasn't even awake to know this yet._

 _Dalieya? I couldn't help but hold that cute mightyena in my arms for the entire night. Heh, last night, the best night I've had in a long while._

 _As you should already know, Dalieya became my girlfriend the night before. Or my mate, as she would say._

 _After our alone time at the fountain, we went back to town square to watch the show. A band played most of the night that everyone was hype about. Everyone wildly danced to the music, and that included Dalieya. My mate insisted that I join her in the fun, but I complained about still being tired from roller skating for an excuse. She didn't buy any of that lie, but she made me promise that I would dance with her next time._

 _Why didn't I dance? Well like most other physical activities, I suck at that. Not only that, but Dalieya was surprisingly good at it, making me somewhat intimidated to try. A promise is a promise though, so I would hold my end of the deal._

 _She tuckered herself out quickly though, and I did something for her I would never do for anyone else in a lifetime. I carried her back to the pokémon center, and her full eighty-eight pounds over my barely fit arms made that one hell of a challenge. Good thing my lack of strength and stamina was made up for with having superb endurance. Dalieya's reassuring licks to my chin the entire way back kept me going strong just as well._

 _I nearly dropped her several times, but she was far too exhausted to notice. This journey was certainly a chance to work out again…_

 _Times have changed through the past few days, and I was ready to see the days to come with that girl I loved._

 _Everyone back at home would go bananas over the fact that I dated someone, though they probably wouldn't be that thrilled when I would say I was dating a hyena. It depended on who I talked to._

 _Dalieya and I had high hopes that everything from there was going to go great..._

My eyes fluttered open, my senses coming to me and allowing me to perceive life as it happened around me. Though nothing was happening yet, I could feel a wonderfully warm embrace that brought happiness into my soul.

It was that mightyena I came to love, her body being locked in my arms and my body in hers. Dalieya's head rested underneath my chin as she slept, exhausted from the events that passed the night before.

She looked as stunning as always, the morning sun giving her well-kept fur a glow that made me think she was the illusion of a dream. _A dream brought to life…_

I turned my head to take a peek at my phone, having no luck with the position I was in. My arm squirmed its way out of our embrace and the sheets so my hand could aimlessly pat at the dresser behind me until I felt the shape of my phone. In one motion, I snatched it from its charging port and brought it to my face to look at the time, all while not disturbing Dalieya.

 _Wow, it's past nine._ I thought to myself, knowing that I slept longer than intended. I gave a mental groan to nobody in particular, not wanting to leave Dalieya's embrace so soon to do what I had to do.

My laziness must have rubbed off on her, seeing as how she didn't wake me up at six in the morning again. I actually woke up before she did for once!

Deciding to sit myself up, Dalieya's arms slipped from my body to the soft mattress beneath us, resulting in losing her warmth. I stretched my limbs, waiting for a few cracks from my joints to be heard as the blanket slipped down my body.

After finishing, I found myself staring at that mightyena again. _My mightyena. I can't believe how cute she is._

A stupid grin tugged my lips to my cheeks as I continued to stare at her. It was amazing to be with someone as caring and sweet as Dalieya. _Guess there's no harm in letting her sleep, we were up 'til midnight._

I slipped out of the blankets with ease, careful to not wake Dalieya. Stepping over to the window, I looked outside just as I have the day before, only this time I was in deep thought.

I knew I had a big adventure ahead of me, but how much would I get to see was the question that bothered me. The voice I met at the start of it all was the reason for these questions, and that also came with why I was here.

 _I haven't learned what the voice wanted me to yet, that's why I'm still here. Great. Means I get to be with Dalieya and still get to have the experience of a lifetime. How long would it last though?_

That question brought more stress than what was healthy for me. I haven't told Dalieya about everything that happened before coming here, meaning that she didn't know that this was not meant to last forever.

I couldn't bring myself to tell her the truth, it was too unfair, to her more than I. For her to fall in love with me after that traumatic event that happened to all of her friends, just to find out in the end that she would be left alone again prior to meeting. I didn't know how much would be taken from me, us, when it was all over, but it would be a lot…

 _No._

I shook my head to clear those plaguing thoughts from my mind, deciding to no longer worry about it seeing as how it was too late to change things. _I planned to make the most of my time here, to make it a time to remember._

Deciding to head to the bathroom, I slumped my way there, shutting the door behind me.

There was something different about me, and I could tell that with just a glance to the mirror. I looked at myself in an entirely different way compared to the day that I first came to this world. There was no longer that blank, empty stare that I have become used to seeing. Instead, I felt myself starting to appreciate everything that happened around me all because of this new life...

I went with the usual bathroom routine, proceeding to brush my teeth and wash my face. A quick shower would be next of course, as I smelled like straight mightyena. Not that I thought it was a bad thing.

Done with my shower, I decided to try my trainer clothing on for the first time. I slipped on the red striped black sweater after I put on a t-shirt. With the sweater's turtleneck collar snug around my neck, a pair of jeans for my legs and red and black boots for my feet, all I had to do was slap on my black cap.

 _I wonder if I look either stupid, or cool…_ I thought, chuckling at the new me.

There was a reason why I changed into these clothes today. Dalieya and I were ready to begin our journey across Axael! It wouldn't be an easy feat for me, but I knew we were going to have a blast. I wanted to live in the moment, and I was damn sure going to.

* * *

When I walked back to the bedroom, I found that Dalieya was nowhere in sight. Searching the room didn't give me any better clue. _Maybe in the living r-_

"Morning Kenny!" squealed a voice that would've made me jump and yell a good 'Fuck balls!' if not for the aggressor immediately attaching to my back the moment after, weighing me down much more than I would've liked.

I only made the situation worse when I attempted to whip my body around to catch my aggressor, causing me to trip on my heavy foot and slam my body to the carpet. A wheeze barely escaped my throat before I heard a giggle from whatever was on my back.

As if on cue, the attacker soon stepped down from my back, allowing me to sit up and give a glare to her. _That mischievous mightyena._ She only laughed as her greeting to me, proud at her successful effort to frighten the shit out of me once again.

I gave her a smirk worthy of showing my agitation. "You're sooo gonna get it. You better get set." I snarled before tackling the canine. Dalieya yelped, having no time to react to my attack.

I cracked my knuckles and glared at Dalieya while she remained pinned under me. "You're obviously looking for some punishment." I told her.

The hyena gave a toothy grin before sticking out her tongue. "What could you possibly do to me, bad boy?" teased Dalieya before brushing her paw against my face to taunt me while having a slight tint of red on her cheeks.

Already having a plan, I saw that there was no need to respond to her taunt. Instead, I raised my hands in the air before shouting "Give me your energy!"

Dalieya had a face that asked 'what the hell are you doing?' as my fingers started to wriggle and squirm. She would find out soon.

With a smirk, I struck her fluffy belly, my magic fingers tickling over every inch that they could reach. I wanted her to laugh until she cried for mercy, and that's exactly what I got.

"A-Ah!" she yelped, trying to break free of my death grip immediately after striking her belly. Dalieya's maw shot open and gave an outrageous laugh, one that surprised me despite the saliva that started to slap my face. _Not done with you yet._

"Arceus! K-Ken s-stop!" screamed Dalieya as I continued my assault. I had to admit I was having too much fun to actually heed her demand.

The mightyena's face was beet red as we passed by a minute full of tickling. "Oh, guess you want me to stop? Give me a good reason." I demanded with a smirk. Though I still kept up with my tickle attack, I slowed down just a bit, where she could take a little air while still letting out those giggles that I found very adorable. Her breaths sounded labored, and she had to take heavy gulps of air as she tried to regain her composure.

"Please… It tickles too much…" she got out through her breaths as tears of happiness leaked down her cheeks. "My gut, it… HURTS!" she screamed the moment I gave her one last tickle before I finally stopped. Her head reeled back in relief and defeat.

"Okay, I'm done. Promise." I told her with a chuckle as her laughter died down. A detail I probably wouldn't forget was how much she blushed through the entire session.

After cooling herself down, Dalieya looked up to me, giving me a warm smile that made me melt on the spot. She already forgave me for my payback I gave to her, making me quickly forget why I even assaulted her in the first place.

"Why are you so beautiful?" I asked, completely entranced by the gaze those dazzling crimson eyes gave off. Her fur seemed to shimmer once again as the sun brought the spotlight on her.

"I dunno about me, but why are you so handsome?" she answered, giving a mischievous smirk with a glint in her eyes that made me blush red like a fire truck.

Dalieya pushed her lips towards mine where we would meet in a passionate kiss, which had no warning. I was taken aback and my limbs were quivering from excitement, though that didn't stop me from returning that kiss with equal passion.

As we shared that kiss, Dalieya somehow found a moment to slip her tongue past my lips to fight with my own. _She keeps surprising me today._ Not that I was complaining.

I gladly let her tongue meet mine before we began tongue wrestling in our lip lock. As fun and interesting as the kiss was, I quickly had to break apart for air, letting her win the round. She used the break to catch her own breath as well.

The mightyena giggled from beneath me, still showing a faint blush on her cheeks. Thinking back on the kiss we shared caused me to give an outburst of laughter that made Dalieya give me a confused expression.

"What's so funny?" she asked.

"Nothing much. When you slipped your tongue in my mouth, it reminded me of a bunch of silly shit I read." I told her with a chuckle. "It really takes me back, and it's the first time I have had a kiss like that."

"Oh?" she asked, a smirk on her face as she winked at me. "That's a good thing right?"

I gave a nervous smile as I rubbed the back of my neck. "Why wouldn't it be?" I replied before kissing her nose, her ears giving a cute twitch to my romantic gesture.

"Hehe, I'm glad. You know I love you?" Dalieya licked my cheek with made my face turn red again. I nodded to her, a smile on my face as I repeated those words in my head.

"I doubt you'll let me forget, and I love you too…" I answered, once again becoming lost in her gaze.

"I know you do. Anyway, like you say, we should be getting set." she said with a giggle before looking at the situation she was _still_ in. "You mind?"

It took longer than I would've liked to notice that I still had the poor hyena pinned under me. I blushed in embarrassment as Dalieya giggled. "Whoops,"

I rolled back to the floor so she could finally sit up, though I wasn't expecting her to play tackle me and give me a hug. It was something that I was quickly starting to love from her.

* * *

The next hour came and went uneventfully. The two of us ate breakfast and I finished packing all of my things. My red scarf and Dalieya's pink bandana were around our respective necks. I started to think I had on too many clothes, but I didn't care enough to put real time into those thoughts.

Dalieya mentioned wanting to listen to the music I had on my phone, for reasons that she wouldn't explain. Nonetheless, I let her borrow a pair of headphones I got yesterday, as I have indeed left my ear buds at home. I held the phone for her, definitely not letting her hold it in her jaws for obvious reasons while I picked the songs. The mightyena seemed to jam away at my tunes, but I at least hoped she wouldn't ask me to hum something later on.

Deciding that I would keep both of my bags, I carried my large gym bag over my shoulder while Dalieya was generous enough to carry my normal backpack on her back. _She wouldn't stop bothering me about letting her help in fact._ With everything ready for our trip, we finally made our way downstairs.

When we made it to the first floor, I tossed my room key toward the counter. Needless to say, I messed that up and caused the key to skid across the counter before falling to the floor with a chime. Luckily, Nurse Joy was there to pick it up for me.

I let out a nervous chuckle. "Sorry, Nurse Joy. Thanks for letting us stay though, we really appreciate it!" I called to her as Dalieya continued walking, so I tried to keep up with her myself.

"Wait a minute, Kenny!" Joy hollered, causing me to top in my tracks. Only hearing her a second later, Dalieya took a fate sealing extra step which caused the headphones to yank away from her ears and flop around her neck. _Too bad I couldn't find any wireless._ The mightyena have an annoyed huff as I turned to the nurse, almost wanting to laugh a little.

"Yeah, what's up?" I asked as the two of us walked back to the counter where the nurse was waiting. I thought she was planning to snap at me for carelessly tossing the keys like I owned the place.

"Well, you're a new trainer right?" she asked. After I nodded to her question, she continued. "Do you know anything about battling with your pokémon? Or about their battle stats and moves?" the nursed asked, which made my brain grind gears.

"Well, I know type advantages and a lot more, but I have never been in a _real_ battle before. Now that I think about it, I don't know anything about Dalieya either." I admitted, the mightyena in question giving me a little glare that demanded me to correct that statement. "Battle wise, I mean…" I concluded, which was enough to make Dalieya content, as told by her giggle. I rolled my eyes, never realizing before that she was a little petty, though in a fun way.

The mightyena stood on her rear legs so her fore paws could rest on the counter, interested in being more involved in the conversation with me.

With maniacs running around and killing people out of the blue, it was a dumb move to head out and not know about what Dalieya was capable of. I knew she could protect me, and she would, without command. However, if I didn't know how to work with her, we wouldn't get too far in our journey.

"Here. Take this." the nurse said before giving me a black device. It was small enough to fit in my pocket and rectangular in shape, resembling an iPad. The strange thing was the weird antenna that was on its top. "It's a poképedia, you can use it to scan your pokémon and find out about their stats. Why don't you try it?"

Turning toward Dalieya, I pointed the poképedia toward her. A blue light shot out of the antenna, threatening to make me drop the device due to my surprise.

The light coated the area where Dalieya stood, likely scanning her for her data. The previously black screen suddenly flashed to life, showing information of the mightyena that leaned on the counter. _So, this must be a bootleg pokédex._

 **Name: Mightyena**

 **Type: Dark**

 **Gender: Female**

 **Level: 57**

 **Nature: Playful** _Sure explains a lot…_

 **Moves: Crunch, Double Team, Take Down, Shadow Ball**

 _DAMN!_ As I continued to read her stats, I could tell how powerful she _truly_ was, and she had such glorious stats for a playful mightyena.

I did wonder why shadow claw wasn't in her moveset, as I eventually found that she _could_ use it. Maybe it just wasn't a move she used for battle, or maybe she was still getting the hang of it. I didn't know.

"This will be useful," I finally said with a grin before I looked to Dalieya, who had a knowing smile on her face as she basked in the glory that she admittingly deserved. I couldn't imagine how powerful she would be if she got the chance to be fully trained.

"Next, maybe we should make sure you know enough about battling. After that, you'll be happily on your way!" she told me. By her tone I could tell it was more of a statement than a suggestion. "Your mightyena is quite strong, so naturally, you shouldn't have much trouble in a battle against me."

"Okay. That's well and all, but…don't you have to heal hurt pokémon?" I asked with genuine curiosity. I didn't mind doing a test battle before I went into the world of pokémon, but I knew the nurse had important duties that needed to be taken care of.

"One step ahead of you, Chansey can take things from here. We shouldn't be too long." The moment she said this, Joy pointed a thumb back to a chansey that was already walking towards the counter to greet us with a happy wave.

"That works." I said with a shrug.

* * *

The three of us went to the back of the center, where our eyes met with a huge training field obviously built for battles. This was probably why the second floor only had one row for rooms unlike the third floor. Saying this place was huge was an understatement.

There were trainers here of course, training their pokémon by battling one another on the separate fields, which added up to four. Luckily, there was one open for us so we could get this over with.

"So. What do you think we'll be doing?" Dalieya asked while we walked with Joy.

"Probably battle, most likely." I answered with a shrug.

"Yeah, silly. But I was wondering what we'll be up against, and how to win." Dalieya said as we finally got to the field, her questions causing me to go into a little thought.

"Alright, Kenny. It's time for you to learn how a battle really goes!" the nurse shouted as she took her side of the field and pulled out what looked to be a heal ball. "Go, Audino!"

The nurse tossed the ball forward, soon to hit the floor below. The shape of a pokémon would appear soon after, blanketed by a harsh white light. When the light faded, we met an audino, who placed her hands on her hips as she took in her surroundings. _Memories good and bad of generation five…_

I stepped to the other side of the field, knowing what I had to do. For a reason I couldn't explain, I had the urge to turn my cap backwards, and that's exactly what I did.

Feeling as if I were in an anime, my brown eyes gave a spark as they reflected the field in front of me.

"You ready?" I asked my partner, turning to her. Dalieya gave a nod before pouncing to the battlefield, where the nurse's audino was waiting.

Attempting to collect my thoughts, I took a deep breath, though I could feel a sudden ping of worry. I knew that with Dalieya being out there, she was volunteering to get herself hurt, even if it was for my safety in the future. I knew that battles were about building teamwork and coördination, and I would want nothing more than that with Dalieya, but I couldn't help but feel anxious about the situation at hand.

If it were another pokémon, then I would love to battle. The worrying feeling I got from Dalieya being out there however was enough to make me sick.

"Uh, Dalieya. You sure you wanna battle? You know, I-"

"Of course! I've waited too long to finally stretch my legs!" barked Dalieya, cutting me off as her tail wagged behind her.

She definitely knew that I was anxious over the fact that she would actually get hurt. "Don't worry, I think we'll do fine. You know a lot about pokémon, so think of this as like a three-D real life thing. Go with the flow, we got this!"

With that, Dalieya gave a wink, showing that she had confidence in me and believed I would have her back when in a tight spot. Taking a calm breath due to her reassurance, a beam of determination suddenly shot through my body like a rocket. I knew what time it was…

 _It's time to duel! I-I mean battle… of course…_

"Alright! I'm ready to battle you!" I called to Joy after taking a moment to collect my senses. I made sure to remember her moves, and the flow of battles from many years of binge watching the anime. I stared daggers toward the field with my newfound determination while keeping my cool. _I won't let Dalieya down…_

 _We seriously need the Johto battle theme in the background…_

"I'll let you have the first move. Attack when you're ready." Joy said.

"Have it your way," I replied. "Dalieya, let's start with crunch!" I commanded.

Dalieya already sprang into action the moment I said my last word, fangs bared as she charged the opposition, who didn't do a thing before her trainer's mark.

"Jump over it!"

Audino jumped above Dalieya just as the mightyena was going to make her hit. The audino's jump height was surprising for a pokémon like her, but I knew better than to stay on little details like this for long.

Dalieya skidded to a stop and glared at the normal type that was several feet above her, having a face that said she knew exactly what to do. Though, she wasn't going to do anything before my mark.

I was nearly unaware that other nearby trainers that were nearby watched our battle. Some mocked us, saying things like 'Look at Joy train the newbie', which I barely heard or cared about. Getting Dalieya through this battle was my main priority.

"Now use take down from the air!" Joy commanded, the audino proceeding to use her weight to push herself down towards the mightyena with great speed, as told by the harsh white light that she became shrouded by.

 _Take down, one of audinos main offensive attacks. She made it too predictable._

"Shadow Ball right in the chest!" I called.

Reacting quicker than lightning, Dalieya whipped her head back before opening her jaws and releasing a sphere of darkness that made a direct hit on the audino. _Sanin really trained her good…_

Audino flew back into the air involuntarily before slamming down to the field that gravity kept us on. She was able to pick herself up, hinting that she didn't take much damage. _Figures._ I could hear a few 'Ooo's' from the growing crowd.

"You're a fast learner." Joy concluded with a grin. I nodded to her.

"Pretty much, I thought that using a direct attack like crunch would draw you out, making you think you could get an easy counter strike since you probably didn't think my mightyena knew any special attacks. Shadow ball was the ticket there since mightyena's are a pokémon known for physical attacks." I told the nurse who seemed confused about something that happened. I only gave a knowing smirk.

Dalieya gave me that same smirk, apparently also knowing why the nurse looked like she was picking at her brain for answers. S _he has definitely seen her share of battles._

"I've figured. This battle isn't over yet! Audino, use trick room!"

 _Wait. Trick room?_

As if the field suddenly became the matrix, the area began to shift in color. This was a move I knew about as well, and I knew it was one that would give Joy the advantage. _Can an audino even use that? What the fuck?_

I didn't need more than a few seconds to notice how sluggish Dalieya had become. This caused me to hold my breath as I cursed the fact she would be at the audino's mercy if I didn't hurry up and think of something.

I thought things couldn't get any worse, but that was before Joy's next command. "Now use pound!"

The audino rushed at Dalieya with her fist glowing in a white light. Life began to move in slow motion as I took in everything that took place. Audino intending to hurt that special someone of mine, Dalieya bracing herself for that inevitable hit, and Joy with a winning grin on her face. It all was sinking in, but I didn't enjoy it at all.

The audino's fist was soon to make contact with Dalieya's cheek, making a hit hard enough to make her fly a few feet away.

My heart stopped and my muscles clenched as I watched Dalieya skid on the ground near my feet. With the way my stomach dropped, I thought I would puke then and there.

Before my feet could rush me to the battlefield however, Dalieya bounced back up on all fours while shaking the debris out of her fur, as if nothing happened.

Dalieya looked back to me, giving that warm smile that made the best out of any bad situation. "Ken, I told you that I would be fine. Stop worrying so much, I can take a couple of hits ya know."

Though I was still reeling over the fact she was hit that way, I gave a nod, showing that I trusted her to hold her own after seeing how she bounced back. Dalieya grinned, seeing that I was quick to regain hope. "Let's finish this!"

Dalieya's reassuring words made me more confident than before and got me back into the spirit. "Let's do it! I know you can win!" I announced, holding up a fist with a smirk.

"We'll see about that!" the nurse called from the other side of the field, seeming much more competitive than her usual self. "Use pound again! Make sure you hit it hard!"

With my mind cleared of doubt, I was able to think quickly and more logically. This would lead me to come up with an easy winning strategy. "Double team!"

Before the audino could land a hit on her, Dalieya split herself into two, then four, eight, to the point where I couldn't count them all. It was an advanced Zanzōken technique!

 _So many, cute mightyenas...Uh. Shit, concentrate!_

The audino was quick to notice those beautiful doppelgangers had her cornered, but wasn't quick to find which was the _real_ Dalieya. They all snarled as they slowly closed in on her. I wanted to get this battle over with.

"Quick, take them all out with pound!" commanded Joy, but I wasn't having any of it.

"Take down, Dalieya! We won't give her that time!"

The mightyena's all rushed the audino. Though they were much slower, they came in more numbers than the audino could handle. Audino would attempt to hit them all with pound, though the only reward she got were the clones disappearing when they made contact. If they were real, many of them would have actually hit her.

I had a guess that the real Dalieya was hiding within the crowd, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. With the audino showing a lot of fatigue through her efforts to get rid of the clones alone, I decided to do something different for the finale just to tease.

"Shadow ball! Give it your all!" I shouted.

The moment I gave the command, the sphere of dark energy made its appearance, ripping through the clones on the battlefield. This sphere crackled and seemed to spark as it shot through the air like a bullet and hit the audino hard, causing an explosion. With smoke quickly covering the area and debris flying, Joy, Dalieya and I were left waiting in anticipation for the outcome.

 _Just thought about that… I have no gym badges to command such a powerful pokémon, heheh._

The smoke didn't take long to clear, and the trick room's matrix color scheme faded away. My eyes shot open in disbelief. "I…"

There she was, Joy's audino. She was waiting. Waiting to get healed at the pokémon center because she passed out from that powerful shadow ball! _It took only two attacks, that was easy._

"Oh shit. Dalieya we won! Woo-hoo!" I shouted, jumping up as high as I could while Dalieya ran around me in circles, barking happily like the little kid she was.

"We did it!" she praised. With the battle over, I turned my cap back to its proper position before holding my thumb up and giving a wink. _I watch way too much anime…_

The audino was soon to sit up, rubbing her head from a pain she probably had. The nurse walked up to her and kneeled down, possibly checking if she was badly hurt.

Suddenly I heard an outburst of cheers, turning around to find a crowd of a couple dozen people applauding us. _I totally forgot I heard people watching before._

I quickly shrugged it off as Dalieya stood on her hind legs and licked my chin, causing me to give a light blush.

"You did a splendid job, you get some rest now." Joy said, the audino giving a smile to her before being returned to her ball. This made me smile a little too, for reasons unknown…

"How did you do that?" the nurse asked, Dalieya and I giving mischievous grins before I slipped my hands in my pockets and whistled.

"You mean making the ghost type move hit your audino? It's pretty simple actually." I told her. Joy gave me an expression that demanded answers. "Basically, you gotta know how to use your items, your audino had a ring target around her neck. Right?"

"Yes, but-"

"You know that you have to get the other pokémon to hold it, otherwise, you're the one left vulnerable to normally non effective moves. I noticed from the get go, and guessed it was so audino could hit ghost types. You have it mixed up." I informed, Dalieya giving a smirk, also noticing this flaw from the start.

With a heavy realization, the nurse reeled her head back and almost screamed at herself in frustration, making me give a chuckle…

* * *

A little while later we headed back to the front of the center, the nurse being kind enough to heal Dalieya as well as her audino. With even more confidence then I have ever had, we were all set and ready to roll.

"I can see you clearly won't have a problem with taking on whatever trouble you may meet out there. By the way, where do you plan on heading from here?" the nurse asked.

"We're starting at Route 13, northwest of here I think." I replied, taking my map out and looking it over to confirm my statement.

"The tropical forest of Axael? Well, I certainly wish you luck, though you shouldn't meet any dangers on Elemental Way, with the route being so peaceful."

"Elemental Way? That honestly sounds cool. I Can't wait to check it out." I exclaimed, Dalieya nodding an agreement before we made our way to exit. "Thanks for everything, nurse Joy!" I called.

Just as I was about to head out of the door after my lady, I heard "We hope to see you again!"

My heart froze, and I turned back to look at nurse Joy, her now empty, soulless eyes began nibbling at my very soul. "Heh… Heheh…"

 _I'm just kidding._

Finally, we were out of the pokémon center. The sun was shining bright, a breeze in the air strong enough to blow all of your troubles away.

"So, Kenny-Ken…" Dalieya said, making me look at her with a look of near disgust.

"Oh you are _not_ calling me that." I said with a stern glare. Dalieya grinned and stuck her tongue out at me.

"Not like you can stop me." she retorted, and as much as I didn't want to admit it, she was right. The only reason I wasn't going to try was because she sounded like she was going to ask me something. Seeing that I wasn't fighting against her anymore, Dalieya continued. "So, you plan on getting the money from that incident yesterday right?"

"Hell yeah, you should know better than to think I'm going to miss out on free money." I told her with a grin, reminded of the day I kicked that guy in the shack.

"How about a race there?" she asked. Before I could even question what she just said, she already bolted ahead of me, nearly out of sight. "You better keep up if you wanna find the way there!"

As much as I wanted to shout at her to wait up, I found myself wanting to run with her. It was quite a surprise for someone like me, but it was a surprise I was willing to explore.

Without much thought put into it, I started to bolt after Dalieya, laughing with her as we sprinted toward our destination.

* * *

After the two of us were done goofing off and getting our money along with other important supplies for our trip, Dalieya and I finally headed toward the city limits.

Nothing was ahead of us now but the path of Route 13, a grassy pathway that lead into the unknown, where the tropical forest would be waiting for us. It _sure seems long…_

"I'm starting to think about taking a taxi instead… Is there an uber or something around here?" I asked, Dalieya giggling at my comment with a look of disbelief and amusement.

"A what? C'mon, what happened to that cute trainer spirit you had. Real men see the world on foot you know." she replied, giving me a playful glare that I returned right back to her.

"I was just kidding, no need to cut so deep." I joked. "As long as you're around, I think I'll be fine with anything that we have to do." I said, kneeling and giving Dalieya a kiss to the lips that she was happy to return.

 _It was finally time to leave. With nothing stopping us, we started our journey by heading down Route 13. I didn't know what kind of things we will see together on this journey, but I had no clue how interesting things could become for the both of us…_


	6. Is There a Happy Ending?

**Call From Another World**

 **Chapter 6**

 **AN: Hello everyone, welcome to chapter 6 of CFAW! Finally right? So an update real quick, had some problems with my devices for a while and also dealt with a lack of inspiration, but I plan on getting back to business with somewhat consistent updates, I'll give more insight on that next time. I'm also in the process of making a cover for the story, if anyone has any ideas for it, feel free to tell me. Let's get to the chapter already.**

 **Disclaimer: GameFreak and Nintendo own Pokémon. I just own my characters, plot, and the fan made Axael region.**

 **I hope you all enjoy. R &R as usual if you can. If you see any grammar errors, don't hesitate to tell me right away. Anyway, let's get back to our Axael adventure!**

* * *

 **Last Time: Kenny comes to terms with what his life has become, even winning a pokémon battle and gaining some much needed confidence. Kenny and Dalieya head off to Elemental Way.**

 _The tropical forest, Elemental Way, was straight ahead of us. That is, if we weren't considered there already. I wouldn't know that myself since I have never been to a real forest of any kind before today..._

 _Our walk had been calm and unhindered, exactly the way I liked it. Dalieya and I made casual conversation along the way, telling jokes and fond memories of our lives before we met. Dalieya obviously had more good memories then I did. Nearly an hour flew by like nothing._

 _Our surroundings greatly deviated from when we left Occed City. The once concrete pathway in the middle of the fields and grassy plains was replaced with soft dirt, much more like mud, as the dirt was rather clumpy. Rocks claimed the path as well, blanketed with vibrant green moss. Ah, don't you love it when your surroundings suddenly change as if you're on the other side of the world? Such is the pokémon world…_

 _Dalieya's paws and my new shoes surely were not safe from the ground below us, clumps of mud sticking to our feet as we walked. Despite the fact, we weren't too bothered. This was a rainforest after all._

* * *

The light of the afternoon sun snuck through the thick crowns of the many trees that now surrounded us, each of which stood at least thirty feet tall. Light from the outside world was minimal at best, with thin fog clouding the air just above our feet that would thicken when the night came around.

Leaves and vines of all shapes and sizes were around us too, beads of moisture giving them a slight shimmer, making me guess that it recently rained.

Dalieya's eyes glimmered with an adventurous spark as she took in the sight. I was quite in awe myself, this was where our journey would finally begin.

"Never been in a rainforest before... I'm pretty amazed..." I told Dalieya as we made our way through the slightly misty terrain. The mightyena nodded to my comment while she toyed with one of the huge leaves with her claws.

"Yeah, but you being here with me obviously makes the experience so much better." Dalieya smiled warmly before rubbing at my leg with her side, like a cat who took affection to its new owner, tail raised and all. I blushed and chuckled at her kind gesture, though she was getting really cheesy. I had the feeling that today was going to be great, the feeling Dalieya's cheerful attitude always gave me...

* * *

"Okay. We've been walking for hours with no idea where we are. We're lost." I put bluntly, looking at my map as Dalieya and I continued walking through the dark forest.

"Yeah, I'm okay with that. That's part of the fun, right?" joked Dalieya with a giggle as her dark form nearly disappeared from existence with how dark it suddenly became. I rolled my eyes to the mightyena.

The night snuck up on us after a few hours, and with light barely coming in from the moon in few places, it was almost pitch black in the forest. I was convinced by now that we wouldn't find our way out of here until morning without any help. The only source of light we had was my phone's flashlight, which would eventually die out if I used it too much. We stuck with just sticking to the largest source of moonlight we could find, and relaxing there until morning.

Thankfully, we would soon find that glittering moonlight, where the trees weren't as plentiful but enough to take rest under. The moonlight shined down on us, coating us in an ominous glow as we made our way to our camping spot for the night. I could see a river that was flowing not too far from us, the sound of a waterfall crashing nearby.

I slumped against what I considered the most comfortable looking tree, if that were to even exist. I gave a tired sigh. "My feet hurt like hell…" I said to myself, eyes half closed with fatuige.

Almost immediately after I sat down, Dalieya would lay next to me, nuzzling her head into my chest while she draped her forepaws over my legs, her paws being caked with mud. Her fur, despite being in this murky forest all day, was still as soft and warm as always, instantly making me relax under her warmth.

"You'll get over that in time. How about some quality time with me to make you feel better?" she asked, staring into my eyes with that quality spark of her own crimson ones, added with the cutest of smiles.

Before I could give the obvious answer, her lips already met with my own in a passionate kiss. Though blushing red as if I had sudden fever, I didn't miss the chance to return her kiss with equal passion. I wrapped my arms around the adorable hyena as we caressed each others lips.

As I ran my hands through her silky manes, her tail raised as high as it could reach, wagging behind her butt with pride as her paws suddenly found their way to my shoulders. I felt her weight shift, more of her body laying over my legs as she put her weight on me near completely. Her eyes were half lidded, giving an almost unnatural glare into my own, a look I never seen anyone give me, even Dalieya. The hyena's face was even more red than my own for once. She was really into this kiss.

After a few more moments, Dalieya slowly parted her lips from mine. Her movement was very drawn out, as if she didn't want to leave, as if she wasn't satisfied just yet. I didn't know how I came to that conclusion, but I kept it to myself.

We both decided to catch our breath during our little break, a string of saliva was the only thing that didn't completely separate our lips at that point. Forever the predator, Dalieya instantly broke the string with her own tongue, taking most of the saliva for herself rather eagerly.

"Okay, feeling much better…" I said before I hurriedly wiped any drool that may have dribbled from my mouth with my shirt, blushing as always.

Dalieya giggled before laying her head on my chest again, staring at me with sparkling eyes as her rear legs began to shift, somewhat awkwardly I might add. When a slight breeze blew by us, I could feel that Dalieya's claws ripped through my shirt a little. While we weren't together for long, I would say she was kind of _clingy_ tonight. However, I was too enamored with my loving mate to take serious notice to any of these actions.

The canine giggled again, licking under my chin. "Being with you has to be the best thing that has ever happened to me, I've never been happier, Ken…" she gave a content sigh. "So, what's for dinner tonight? Or did you somehow forget that?" she said with a smirk.

"You know I would never do that." I snorted before laughing. "Anyway, since I figured we'd be camping out here...I thought that tonight maybe we could maybe roast a few marshmallows before having some soup. Don't know if I told ya already, but I'm a bit of a cook." I said with pride, putting a fist to my chest.

"Oh?" Dalieya licked her lips to the thought. "Sounds like a delightful idea, we should totally do it! But...we'll need a fire first," the canine pointed out. I shooed off her worry with a flick of my wrist.

"No problem, we just need some dry wood. I think I have an idea how to do the fire when we get to it, but for now-"

I stopped my sentence when I noticed that the area around us suddenly began to glow a faint orange. Dalieya and I turned our head toward the source of the light before noticing that there were torches between some of the rocks and in the ground, as if to light the way for passerby. My eyes dilated as more torches that I haven't noticed before due to the darkness suddenly lit to life with a crackling flame out of the blue.

"What the fuck?" I said as my head whipped left and right to visually scout the area, failing to find the reason behind the unnatural phenomenon. I would've bounced to my feet if it weren't for Dalieya having most of her weight on my body by now. It was like holding your dog in your lap while it was sleeping. Most people would probably decay before they disturbed their dog from such a comfortable position, including me. Dalieya wasn't worried like I was though, she kept her cool.

"Relax Ken, nobody's there. I would smell them if anyone was." reassured Dalieya, nuzzling into my neck to calm my cautious nerves. It worked a little, but I started thinking too deep of the scenarios.

"What if it's a ghost or something?" I questioned, always on my guard in such a situation. I looked down to Dalieya for answers, who was giving me a cheeky grin.

"I would know if they were around too. We dark types can tear ghosts apart for a reason, you know. For now, I'll just say that we know them better than they know themselves." said the hyena with an demonic, toothy smirk that sent a chill down my spine. I wanted to ask what did she mean by that, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to find out. "Anyway, trust me, we're safe." she told me.

Having no choice, I gave a defeated sigh and shrugged. I had to take her word for it, and I believed she was telling the truth. "Alright then. So disregarding whatever that was...I believe we already have our fire."

* * *

As promised, the two of us roasted marshmallows over the fire while noodles boiled over on a separate fire for the time. I guessed that after some time passed, the soup would be ready to be served, after it cooled down of course.

"I never would've guessed that you were a chef, the way you diced those onions and meat was amazing!" the hyena squealed as we stared over the pot of chicken noodle soup, the fire below the used pot now out like a light. I whistled, twirling a wooden spoon in my hand.

"I'm no chef." I said with a laugh. "Being home by myself most of my life and having the appetite of a bear just means I had to do things myself if no one was home to cook. Wanna taste?" I offered with a smile.

"Yes please!" Dalieya exclaimed, barking as I got a spoonful of the broth with some noodles for her to try. "It definitely smells like it'll be delicious." she complimented with a grin before slurping her sample as I stood there without the ability to breath. It was hard enough just to keep my arm from shivering, making it become obvious that I had a fear of showing off my skills just to be rejected.

"Well? How is it?" I asked with anticipation.

The moment I asked, Dalieya stepped back from my spoon, sweat now coating my face as I prepared for her to probably say that it was disgusting or that I needed to practice.

What I didn't expect was to see Dalieya trotting toward one of my bags before digging through it. I was left to stare at her action in confusion before she found what she was looking for and trotted back to me. She now had a bowl held in her maw.

The mightyena smiled at me before raising her new-found bowl. "How about you fill me up!" she muffled, her tail happily wagging behind her as I gave her the biggest smile I could muster before kissing her cheek, where she blushed cutely. I was definitely proud of myself to say the least. Dalieya put the bowl down in front of her.

"I can't wait to make you my husband. Cute _and_ a good cook." commented Dalieya with a wink, causing me to blush and look down to my feet.

"I really would like to think you're too nice for me sometimes. I swear I'm lucky to have someone like you. " I chuckled as I sat in front the pot to make our bowls, though not stopping myself from staring at the beautiful hyena.

"I said it before and I'll say it again," Dalieya said as she sat next to me. "You're perfect for me, and I'll never give you up for anything." the hyena said, leaning against me shoulder to shoulder as buried her head into my neck.

* * *

A few hours passed by while Dalieya and I ate our dinner, cracking jokes with one another for fun. Speaking of my mightyena love, she was beginning to show some seriously strange behavior after a while…

Out of the corner of my eye, I could clearly see that she was at it again. Her body giving shivers despite there being no cold breeze, and her hind legs constantly thumping as her tail raised in the air again.

When we started eating, she was full of vigor, taking bowl after bowl of soup even more than I was. Then she stopped when it was around midnight. Her face was still red from earlier, and sweat dribbled through her fur while she panted quietly to attempt to hide it. Her eyes stared off into deep space while her mind didn't register anything that was going on around her. Her ears were limp, and her expression overall had a terrible mix of irritation and distress.

Every now and then she stood up and shook her fur out before pacing around the trees a few times. At this point, I was sick of just wondering what was up with her and decided to voice my concern.

"Hey, Dalieya?" I called. Her eyes slowly drifted over to meet me before her head followed at the same speed. She weakly smiled at me.

"What's up, Kenny?" she said, her leg once again giving a rapid thump as she grinned. "Sure is hot, isn't it?"

"What…?" I asked, figuring that this was my first time meeting with someone who was possibly drunk. It wasn't cold, but it definitely wasn't hot either. "Are you feeling okay? You're acting...really funny." I asked with a frown.

Dalieya's eyes instantly shot open before she straightened herself up, face red in embarrassment as I continued to frown at her. "I've never been better! Just an itch...it's just a really annoying itch…" she said, her eyes drifting to the grass at her feet as she bit her lip in thought.

" …And you can't reach it right? I'll help get it for-"

"No no no!" Dalieya shouted, face beet red as she stared at me in shock, making me question if she needed a certain type of medicine to help with the itch. She seemed to know that I wasn't buying her words. "I can handle a little itch...but I would look weird if I got at it here, so I should go somewhere so I could get it really good …" she said with a nervous giggle, gathering what little composure she had.

I scratched my head as the canine gulped. "Well, I understand...you're not the only one who has to get into weird positions to get a scratch...I know how that feels. You don't mind if I take a walk while you're doing that right?" I asked her.

"Sure, love! Take all the time you need!" Dalieya quickly assured before trotting over to me and kissing my cheek. With that, the mightyena dashed off into the deeper woods without another word. _She was certainly in a hurry…_

"I hope she just had to pee really badly, sure didn't look like she had a rash or some type of poké flea...if those exist…" I said to myself before I got up, prepared to take a quick stroll through the forest before Dalieya got back.

* * *

Besides the river's waves that flowed in the distance and possibly a few noctowls making hooting noises, it was dead silent. I would still find some torches just lighting up here and there as I walked, I didn't know what was causing it, but I had different concerns.

Just because I hoped Dalieya had to take a leak didn't mean I actually thought she would. Something was much different about her tonight. _Is it wrong to be curious?_ It was as if something was eating at her, and whatever it was, I knew at least she wasn't giving me the whole truth. _Bah, stop worrying about it. I have to trust her, but I'll find out at some point, I guess…_

So I kept walking around aimlessly, shooing the thoughts from my mind in order to unwind myself. That seemed to do the trick, until I heard something in the distance. I stopped in my tracks, turning around to face the direction of the noise.

I have definitely heard it before, whenever Dalieya was angry or when I met that pack of reckless houndoom. That was definitely the sound of growling, but I heard something else too. It was much higher pitched, the sound of squeaking.

If it weren't for the fact that the sounds were coming closer, numerous paws being heard crunching against the grass rapidly, I would have shrugged it off and went on my way. But it was too late to ignore it.

Before I could even blink, numerous tiny purple figures pounced and scurried through the bushes, dashing by my feet as I froze in place. The last thing I needed to do was to step on a rattata and get chomped by that tooth of theirs.

What appeared to be chasing them however, easily made my blood turn into thin ice once I saw it. A wild galvantula pouncing from the bushes, landing directly in front of me where we met face to face. This was the obvious reason for the distressed squeaks of the rattata, who were about to be this thing's dinner. I would have began to wonder what was that growl I heard, but my thoughts were forced to halt when the tarantula hissed at me.

My body instantly cringed and locked in place, my hair standing on end. "Holy fucking shit-" I muttered under my breath. The spider in a much closer perspective was even more scary than the spiders in my world.

I made no attempt to move as the beast sized me up, moving from side to side as if to keep me on my toes. I knew that if it caught me in its electric web, I would be its fried dinner for certain. I was hoping that growling would have been Dalieya, but she would've instantly came to my side by now, knowing my scent. I didn't know of a way out.

The spider raised its backside and hissed again, looking ready to either pounce me or trap me in some web. No clear word would come out of my mouth as I stood frozen in place. I knew I had to learn or find a way to defend myself against these beasts at some point, but it damn sure didn't seem like I didn't have to worry about that now...

Just before the spider could make its final move, a horrific flame suddenly ignited the arachnid's body in a brilliant show of orange lights. My body slowly relaxed as the flames licked away at its fur and body while it gave a bone chilling screech. The creature would no longer be a threat as its body was starting to shrivel and become a charred black. As one would expect from a dying spider, it almost immediately rolled onto its back to where its body curled up as it burned to hell.

I turn my head to the source of the now dying flame which coated smoke around the area, clearing the mist that was once there. There was someone, a pokémon more specifically, who smirked towards the decaying spider with pride.

This pokémon had a mix of orange and cream fur, with black tiger stripes on its back and legs. Seeing it's fluffy cream tail though, confirmed that this was no feline, with eyes that were a sparkling shade of hazel.

The pokémon whipped its hair, almost to show it off. It was a brilliant cream mohawk that was definitely much longer than most growlithe I have ever seen in the video games. Two hairs laid on its forehead from its mohawk, and its ears were black instead of the usual orange. _This, is kinda awesome…_

"Heh, you okay there? Couldn't just let those rattata get killed, gotta do what you gotta do." the growlithe said, her voice somewhat feminine with a hint of tomboy. I guess I've just been meeting all of my favorite pokémon lately. Mightyena, houndoom, growlithe...

"Yeah. Thanks for the save, seeing a spider like that up close definitely won't let me sleep at night…" I said, giving the growlithe a smile.

"No problem!" the growlithe said, puffing up her chest with her large cream scruff that admittingly looked soft enough to sleep on. "Name's Cinder! I'm a tour guide around these parts you could say. What about you?"

"Kenny. Nice to meet you, Cinder." I held out my hand, trying to be polite and at least make a good first impression with my savoir. The growlithe, Cinder, met my hand with her forepaw. Though she couldn't grip my hand in a shake with her stubs for forepaws, I took the initiative and did it for her. Smiles decorated our faces as we made our introductions.

"What brings you around here anyway? If you're lost, I could lead you to the village that's nearby. That is my job after all." Cinder said.

Usually, I would take too long to answer that kind of question, mostly due to my pride issues. However, I didn't want to keep Dalieya out here with the way she was suddenly acting with that itch of hers...

"Hellooooo? You sure seem to space out easy. No wonder you were about to become a snack." joked Cinder with a chuckle. I glared at the dog pokémon, but sighed in defeat knowing that she was actually right. If I ran earlier, things would probably be much different.

"I guess so. But yeah, I would appreciate that. I don't want to keep Dalieya out here the way she is." I said, Cinder only giving me a confused look with a tilt of her head. "She's a mightyena. We're together, and she has a really bad itch that's bothering her right now…"

"Oh, so you're traveling with her then? Okay. What kind of itch is she dealing with?" asked the growlithe, stepping a little closer to me.

"I...really don't know, but I'm just hoping it's nothing serious...She did say that she could handle it, and I trust her." I said, slightly shrugging it off though I was sad that I couldn't know more than that. "Anyway, she should be back at our rest stop by now with our stuff."

"Well let's go see her and I'll help you two to the village." Cinder said with a grin. "You know the way back, right?"

I nodded. "Yep. I couldn't have walked more than a couple of minutes. We should be alright." I told her before I started walking to lead the way.

"So where are you from, Kenny? This definitely isn't your kind of stomping ground." asked Cinder, looking around at the varying stones as we walked, dead leaves crunching under our feet.

"Orlando." I said rather casually.

"I've never heard of that… Must be far…" Cinder said, making me remember that nobody else knew I didn't belong in this world at all. I figured that I would keep it a secret from everyone beside Dalieya, and my time here was starting to make me think I've been here in the pokémon world my whole life.

"Oh, oh yeah, it's a place really far away… It's barely even seen on the globe." I told the curious growlithe, wiping the sweat off of my head while looking for a quick way to take the focus off of me. "What about you?"

"Toisue Path. I don't remember much about it, mostly because I've been away for years, but it's just a grassland with a bunch of rivers that lead around the region. You've seen the rivers around here, right?" Cinder asked, a smile on her face. I nodded.

"I have. So you mean to say that the rivers around here come from Toisue?" I asked, Cinder nodding with a smile, proud that I was quick to catch on.

"Yup! It's basically the center of the region, you'll see trainers usually riding their pokémon across the rivers. It's a quick way to travel around the region if you can't fly or anything." Cinder said. "I've been out to a lot of places through there, but for now I'm staying around here."

I was amazed, Cinder being a traveler who has probably seen the entire Axael region by now. I was beginning to wonder if she once had a trainer too, or at least a job where she had to travel a lot. Seeing as though she didn't bother to mention it, I didn't ponder on it for long.

"That's cool, I plan on exploring the region with Dalieya. Maybe you could help us navigate from time to time." I joked, the two of us chuckling. "Anyway, I think you'll like Dalieya. She's real nice, it's impossible for someone to hate her when they know her."

"You know, I think I might've heard the name somewhere…"

Before Cinder could tell me the rest of what she was going to say, a deep growl behind the two of us stopped us dead in our tracks...and this growl was very similar to the one that I heard earlier. _Oh come on, can I catch a break!?_

Cinder and I whipped our bodies towards the source of the new growl, being met with what appeared to be some type of wolf that I've never seen up close. Its sharp blue eyes stared daggers into my own while it's brown and white fur stood on end as if it were ready for a fight. It had a white scruff, with four protruding objects that appeared to be stalactites which were sharpened like blades. This lycanroc was not playing games, and his sights were set directly at me as if Cinder didn't exist at all.

Something was off about the wolf though. His body looked like he only recently took a beating, and he didn't look like he won the fight. Bruises patterned across his body, coated a deep blackish red, some wounds leaking out thick blood that only matted his fur. This didn't stop him from sizing me up with malicious intent, as if he were anticipating the day he got to murder me, despite not even knowing my face.

"Hey!" Cinder shouted before giving a powerful bark at our aggressor, which was a really good one considering her size. Good thing, because this actually caught the quadruped wolf's attention. He now glared at her, but not with the same amount of malice that he showed me. "What's your problem? Why are trying to pick a fight with us?"

I didn't know what to do, so I decided to let Cinder take the stage with this situation, seeing that I was probably useless. Admittingly though, I was also very curious about the reason this lycanroc was planning to attack me.

"...Some bastard murdered my mate, and I'm pissed about it. If you can't tell." the lycanroc put bluntly with a sneer on his face as he still gave me a glare from the corner of his eye. Cinder and I gained looks of slight surprise, but it was mostly with horror and regret to his answer.

"I'm...sorry about that… You had to put up a hell of a fight with them to get bruised that badly..." I said rather awkwardly, not knowing what to say, as I've never been in this situation before. Cinder had no better luck herself with explaining her regret.

"Humph, I don't know how you can understand me without one of those translator things but I guess it doesn't matter," he said, Cinder once again going into shock before she looked at me, seeing that I was indeed didn't have whatever it was that the wolf was talking about.

"I didn't even notice that…" Cinder said, cocking her head and staring at me like I were some sort of alien. Cinder, as well as the lycanroc were both silent for a moment while I remained in confusion before she eventually snapped herself out of it and turned back to him. "Do you have any idea what the person who killed your mate looked like?"

"Well, I didn't see a face…" the wolf answered, poking at his memory. "I only saw a human and another pokémon dressed in some kind of black cloak...the both of them." The lycanroc started to growl at me once again. I would only get more confused until I looked down and remembered that I was wearing my black hoodie. Who knew wearing one of my favorite colors would get me into trouble?

"Now hold on, I wouldn't kill anyone! This is a hoodie!" I said before pinching my hoodie forward to deviate it from my blue jeans. "I don't even have the smell of blood on me, right Cinder?" I turned to the growlithe for confirmation.

The lycanroc and I noticed that the once proud growlithe was now suddenly pale in the face, obviously from something specific she heard. Thankfully, this didn't stop her from backing me up. "No, he was with me, and you know you don't smell blood on him...That was a bold assumption of you…" the growlithe said bluntly, trying to gain her voice again after being lost in thought.

The lycanroc sighed, sniffing the air and realizing his rash mistake. He gave me a look that was already enough to say his sincere apology. "I guess I was too rash...I apologize… uh,"

"Kenny." I finished for him before gesturing my hand toward the growlithe beside me. "And this is Cinder." the growlithe gave a nod to the wolf with a tiny smile, showing that she accepted his apology as well as I did.

"I am Nexus." the lycanroc greeted before nodding to the two of us. "Once again, I apologize. When something like this happens to your love, you act on your heart before logic is considered and you lose control of yourself…" he said, unknowingly giving me a sinking feeling in my heart. _What if it were to happen to my own love…_

"I guess that's understandable… Uh, could you possibly lead me to the body. I don't mean to be rude, but I must find out what happened with your...mate." Cinder said, snapping me out of my thoughts. That last word had a long pause, and it had something to do with what she was smelling apparently. I could see the tiny movements her nose gave, so whatever she was smelling was causing her to worry. I doubted I would find out why anytime soon…

"I find that a little odd... But I suppose you can if you think you can figure out anything. I would love to tear the throats of who did this…" Nexus' eyes narrowed, dark outlines seeming to appear around them as tears began to form. He soon turned into the direction in which he came from.

"I planned to bury her somewhere safe, where no one would do her harm after I caught those damn assassins...but it doesn't take a genius to know I lost them...Follow my lead…"

* * *

Cinder, Nexus, and I walked for what only seemed like a few minutes so far. A faint smell covered the air, I wasn't sure what that smell was but it was certainly sending a chill up my spine.

Nexus' silence was only natural, and I couldn't help but feel terrible about his loss despite that I had nothing to do with it. Sure, I was never the person all for getting into other people's problems, but now, since I've changed, I couldn't help but feel inclined to at least give my regrets.

Cinder meanwhile looked worried sick, I didn't expect to see that prideful personality of hers suddenly get so serious. Though I haven't known her for more than an hour, I was worried about her, and what she could possibly know about this…

That smell was definitely near us by now, and while it wasn't too strong, it certainly was there..

Being lost in my thoughts caused me to slightly bump into Cinder, who was now standing in front of me. Her face was once again pale in color, as if you could see under her fur as she stared at the shape of what was in front of us as if she saw a ghost.

Nexus stared at it in silence, and when I finally took a look at it, I felt literally sick to my stomach. It was none other than the body of the lycanroc's mate, sprawled out on the ground and caked with thick blood.

She was actually a human, with what I knew about the region already, that wasn't anything to be surprised about. I assumed that she once had long golden hair, but it looked to be ripped from her scalp, on the grass with the pool of blood. She was nearly naked above her waste, all of her upper womanhood out in the open which was also coated with blood…

As I uselessly rubbed my belly to keep myself from puking, Cinder slowly stepped forward to the body. When she sniffed her, the canine quickly withdrew her head in disgust and stepped a few feet back. She wasn't fond of what she saw either.

"Her name was Melody…" Nexus finally said before stepping towards her dead body. He buried his head in her neck. Though I was unable to see his face, the sniffles and hushed sobs I heard confirmed of the deep pain that he couldn't hide. I knew I had to at least say something…

"I bet she was beautiful… Before, they did that to her... This is fucking hell, for you more than anyone…" I said, stepping forward and placing my hand on Nexus' back in an attempt to comfort him. It seemed to work a little, as he brought his head back up to see mine, muzzle coated with a bit of blood.

"She is still so beautiful… No matter what they did to her... But I'm still pissed that I couldn't avenge her." Nexus then sighed, going silent once again like Cinder did. She was still examining the body. Something specific caught her eye, then I noticed it too…

Melody's throat had been sliced, which is why Nexus' muzzle now had her blood. It wasn't just a clean cut however. There was a strange zigzag pattern torn through her flesh, seeming to be cut with either a knife or the tip of a pokémon's claw.

That wasn't all either, as there seemed to be a reason behind why her sweater was torn. There were more cuts, this time etched into a single word across her chest. It read…

"Pitch-Black…?" I said to myself, catching Nexus' attention. "Where have I heard that before…?"

While I started to become more intrigued then disgusted, Cinder was completely frozen as she stared at the marks on the body. Apparently, the woman was also seriously assaulted on her back, arms, and legs for there to be so much blood below her. Though I was filled with grief, I couldn't help but feel like that word had some meaning in my life before…

"If you two don't mind, Kenny, Cinder," Nexus said, nodding to the two of us respectively and catching our attention. "I just want to be left alone with my love for now, if you please…"

Cinder quickly nodded. "A...alright then, I apologize for this…" she said to the lycanroc.

"Don't be, you had nothing to do with it," Nexus reassured, Cinder looking down to her paws as he said this. "Melody taught me that I needed to control my emotions, even if they were over her. Love makes you do crazy things, stupid things. Like how I dragged you two into this…" the lycanroc sat in front of his lover, and was dead with silence.

I sighed. _Even if I do get to go home, will Dalieya be okay…? Will she get killed too before the end…_ As those thoughts washed through my mind, I could feel myself shedding a few tears. I just wanted to go back to Dalieya and forget what I saw today and hope everything would be okay. I doubted that wish would come true, but I wouldn't let it get me down.

"Good luck, Nexus…" I said, before turning back to the way I came from, not able to see that Nexus gave me a small smile while I slid my hands in my pockets. Cinder would follow behind me, as we already had our own schedule to keep.

"You too," Nexus said to himself, now completely on his own, with his love that would never leave him in spirit…

* * *

I continued leading the way to our campsite, too many things on my mind but I was looking to overlook them in the best way I could. Dalieya and that itch, nearly being digested by an electric spider and meeting Cinder who was now in silence, and then confronting Nexus and finding out the way his girlfriend died. Too many things have happened tonight, and I didn't plan on letting it continue.

"Cinder, what's wrong?" I asked the silent growlithe as we neared our camp spot by a few minutes. Cinder sighed.

"Nothing, just," she stopped walking and stared at me. "Don't tell your friend about this, or at least don't tell her about the specific details of what you saw. Please, let her mind be at ease..."

I was silent for a moment at her request, and after putting some thought into it I decided that it was probably for the better. "Okay, understood." I said, the growlithe giving an approving nod.

"Good, so, she's a mightyena? Dalieya, I mean." Cinder asked, probably trying to break the ice.

"Yeah, the best mightyena. She's been a huge motivator to me...since I moved to the region." I said, nodding my head slowly as I smiled. Every memory I had of the hyena was a beautiful one. "But you'll get to meet her for yourself and see how awesome she is." I told her with a grin.

"Fair enough I guess," Cinder said with a smirk. "So tell me...how can you understand us without a translator?" Cinder asked.

"I was born with the ability I guess." I said before I laughed nervously. "I mean, could you really expect an answer to that...I'm no psychic." I said with a shrug. Before Cinder could ask me more questions, I chirped "Hey, we're here!"

Everything was just the way I left it, two bowls of what used to be full of soup, a pot, used sticks for marshmallows, and even no Dalieya.

"What!? She still isn't back...?" I exclaimed with a worried expression. With what happened earlier, every muscle of my body was quivering with fear. Cinder also had a worried expression for me before she started looking around.

"Hey wait, you hear that?" Cinder asked, her head facing into the distance. Following her gaze, I sighed with relief as I noticed an all too familiar black and gray form approach the two of us from the trees. That beautiful hyena who I called my mate.

Dalieya seemed a little out of it as she walked over to us, meeting gazes with Cinder and I. She was rather exhausted, which I told by her light pants. I would've thought she got in a fight, but she had no injuries to explain the fatigue. At least her tail finally seemed relaxed, and she wasn't jittering about any longer…

Peaking at Cinder to see her reaction, I saw that she was wide eyed at the mightyena she saw, but quickly hid that surprised gaze when she noticed she was failing to keep her composure. She sat on her haunches as if to relax herself as Dalieya finally made it over to us, giving that heart warming smile that could even melt my heart.

"Hi, Kenny!" she said, giving a long sigh after such a short sentence. Nonetheless, I couldn't be happier to see her safe after what happened tonight. I kneeled down to the mightyena so I could meet her face to face.

"Hey, Dalieya. Feeling any better?" I asked, a small smile on my face as I stoked the fur on her head. She gave a happy nod.

"I am, thanks for the privacy." said Dalieya before licking my chin and kissing my cheek, her tail softly swaying behind her. "So who's…"

Dalieya and I stared at Cinder, whose face was completely blank as she stared at the two of us, some sweat leaking through her fur as if she were having war flashbacks. Her eyes darted left and right before she awkwardly raised her paw.

"Oh, she must be shy." Dalieya said with a giggle before stepping over to the growlithe who stared at the approaching mightyena. Now Cinder was acting weird again...

"Heh, a bit. Hi, name's Cinder." Cinder said, pressing her lifted paw to her chest as she grinned, suddenly shaking off her sudden silence. I was at least glad for that, I was a little worried.

"You sure smell familiar, but I've seen plenty of growlithe before, so maybe it's just me..." the mightyena laughed, Cinder giving a bit of pause before she chuckled as well.

"We met on our walk, apparently, she's gonna be our tour guide to the nearby village." I said with a smile, Dalieya huffed.

"Thank goodness, because he..." Dalieya said, gesturing toward me, making me give her a confused stare. "...complains a lot. But I've taught him a thing or two about being tough like me." Dalieya smirked with pride as I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, real mature…I'm going to get our stuff ready, you big kid." I said with a smile before finally walking over to our equipment and bags. Dalieya followed me to help out like she usually would. Cinder giggled to herself just loud enough for me to hear. Though it was an odd day...things were finally getting upbeat again...


	7. Old Faces and Familiar Places

**Call From Another World**

 **Chapter 7**

 **AN: What's good everyone, welcome to chapter 7 of CFAW, I'm surprised you've made it this far without leaving, due to me either sucking at writing or my terrible update speed. Cheers to you guys still with me. So happy late New Years and all of that, let's get back into our adventure in Axael. Hopefully, this chapter will make up for my long absence. This chapter is gonna be a long one, and I couldn't be bothered to split it up, so apologies in advance. Also forgive me if any of the scenes come off as weird and not well done, I'm still learning…**

 **Disclaimer(Last time doing this): GameFreak and Nintendo own the Pokemon franchise and all of that. I only own my characters, settings, or whatever...**

 **As always, I hope that you all enjoy, and review or comment to give me some pointers, tell me what you like and dislike and anything commentary and constructive criticism related. If you notice grammar errors, please tell me right away. I always read over my work before posting, though I hate doing so, but some errors still just slip under the radar, and I'd hate for future readers to get confused over what a certain sentence meant, and all of that jazz. Let's get into it, shall we?**

* * *

 **Chapter 6 Sum Up: Kenny and Dalieya finally make it to Elemental Way, where they quickly find that they're lost. After the two made plans to stay the night, Dalieya starts to act really weird with our protagonist, who's none the wiser as to what was going on. After nearly getting killed on a solo walk, Kenny meets a growlithe named Cinder, who's eager to help those in need. They meet a lycanroc and find out about his mate, a human who was killed in a brutal way. The two made ways back to camp, where Cinder planned to lead Kenny and Dalieya to the nearby village. It seems that Cinder might know Dalieya from somewhere…**

There he was once again, finding himself in what he saw as complete darkness. There was a thick mist all around him, making it so that he couldn't see more than twenty feet from him. It was like he was in subspace all over again, only that this time, he wasn't playing a video game, and there was no way out. The young man had a somewhat big build, not exactly ripped, but definitely had a lot of muscle standing at roughly six feet tall with gruff features. His black hair was kept cut short and he had a little bit of beard hair, though it wasn't by much since he was still somewhat considered a teenager. The young man straightened the shamrock green hoodie that he was wearing before preparing himself, knowing that it wouldn't be long before _they_ showed up. His anticipation was rewarded soon enough, though not in the way that he would have hoped.

A screech echoed from the depths of the mist before something lunged at the young man, for now let's dub him Green Hood or something, who dodged just at the nick of time before the creature could serve him his own head. Green Hood yanked his head around to catch a glimpse of the creature, whose form was completely covered in darkness, and the mist only made it worse just like every other time. He could only attempt to identify it by its shape, which was hard enough to see as things were. It was definitely something of the canine or large feline variety, which Green Hood could tell just by the shape of its body and the anatomy of its legs. The only really notable things that he was able to notice were the blade that jutted from its head and its...butt, but let's call the latter a tail. The hoodie wearing teen had a fair and pretty good guess as to what the creature was, but before he could identify it, it faded into the darkness that blended in with just about everything else around him, which wasn't anything much…

"Dang, why is this always happening…?" Green Hood muttered to himself as he clenched his fist, preparing for another ambush from his assassins. Truth be told, he had never seen that kind of animal before, at least not in real life. That wasn't the only thing that he had to fend for himself against, and it certainly wouldn't be the last today either, he was at least proud of himself for being able to dodge it, being nearly twice the creature's size. The animals would throw just about everything that they could at the hoodie wearing dude, from trying to bite into his leg to-

"Oh shit!" hollered Hood before he ducked and rolled out of the way of an incoming lightning bolt. The fact that he was actually able to see the thunder coming and dodge it to boot was enough for him to know that it wasn't _actual_ lightning. Had it been real, he would have been toasted to a nice burnt brown. Despite those facts, and the facts of where he knew he was, he wouldn't have actually allowed that attack to make contact without attempt to dodge, as the last time he didn't...he thought he would have died. Green stared in the direction of the source of the lightning bolt, only to find another four legged animal standing in front of him, who snarled when he looked its way. It was that same creature again, the only one that he had seen more than once in these bouts for his life. Every time he saw it, he noticed for only a swift second that the shadows that covered its face washed away with the sudden wind, revealing its face for a brief moment. This creature appeared to have spikes or thorns around its body, Green couldn't even tell if it were fur or scales due to the darkness and mist. It had tall ears that also had a few spikes protrude from them, a mane that was full of them, and a backside that said 'Try and go back there, and you'll get these spikes through your-' ...What a strange thought...where did that even come from…? This thing was different than the others. For one thing, it didn't make those annoyingly ear piercing screeches that everyone of the other monsters made, a blessing in disguise actually... There were other unique things about this one, it was the only one out of the gang of creatures who had glowing eyes, like a lantern that lit the way in the eternal darkness he was in. They were magenta in color, and even from the distance that they had, Green could see them as clear as day. Another note about it was that it wore an earring on its right ear that gleamed somehow with a silver light. Everytime it threw a thunder attack Green's way, he would see the earring glow brighter. He had no idea what all of this meant, but this seemed to be unimportant to Green's assassin, who was getting fed up with the young man just staring at it. Thunder Dog let out a sharp howl, summoning more of its friends by its side. Green Teen was used to just facing one of the beasts at a time, with Thunder usually always coming at the end for some reason. Today though, there were about three dozen of the bloody things surrounding him and Green cursed his luck. How Green was able to fend for himself for this long was beyond his knowledge, but things definitely took a turn for the worse. Guess they decided to take their job seriously today…

Green Teen didn't even bother to defend himself, watching as the animals charged him all at once with ready claws and bared fangs. Flames, thunder, water, and sharp blades of grass and just about everything in between came rushing at him to complement the physical attacks. Green was sweating bullets beyond what was considered normal as if he were having a heat stroke, wiping his face of all his excess sweat with his arm while hell decided to rain on him. It seemed to be the end for our green teen, and this would be one hell of a way to go out. Before all of their attacks could connect to him though, they suddenly stopped due to a magical shield of light that protected him. Elements bounced off in various directions, hitting all of the other creatures and making them fade into the darkness, besides Thunder Dog who didn't even attempt to move. The pokemon who rushed him head on were now sent flying back into the depths of the mist as if the shield were some sort of trampoline, one that went sideways… With Green noticing the silence, he took a moment to loosen his body up before he noticed Thunder Dog still there. He prepared himself for another one of their attacks, but Thunder only revealed their face enough to give him a grin before disappearing.

The young man was left in silence, all alone in the dark before a pink light appeared in subspace with him, becoming so bright that it covered the entire room with light, washing away the mist and darkness like last week's dirty laundry. Even with the light, the creature that suddenly appeared, assumably his savior, still couldn't be seen by the likes of Green Teen. It's entire form and shape were blanketed by the harsh light, which surprisingly didn't blind the teenager. Well, at least he didn't have to worry about dying today. Whatever it was, it started to talk to him. "Eugene, it is finally time. Wake up and prepare yourself… Your friend will need your help soon. Try your best to help him in his time of need, and you will find that you too have a destiny… For now, Eugene, I shall bid you farewell, but we will all meet again in due time…"

Eugene shot up from his bed in a flash, trying to collect his bearings as he looked around him to see if he were still in the darkness, or if another one of those animals would suddenly attack him from the deep blue. Luckily, nothing out of the usual was going on in his own room like usual. Man, was he at least relieved to be out of another one of those vivid dreams. The daylight was beginning to sneak into his bedroom that morning, telling him that it was about dawn. His digital alarm clock, displaying numbers with a colorful parakeet green light told him that it was precisely 6:24 AM. Ever the early bird, Eugene noticed that he actually woke up later than he thought, and somehow overslept his alarm clock, which he trusted more than his own phone.

The young man's dog still laid asleep on the floor right next to his bed, deciding at random whether or not to sleep on the floor or sleep in Eugene's bed with him. She was actually rather intelligent, and picked good nights to not share the bed with him, like today, as Eugene was probably fighting for his life in one of his dreams again. The dog was named Lyma, and she was, as far as Eugene knew anyway, mixed with a Swedish lapphund, schipperke, and a keeshond with a three-tone coat mixing of black, grey, and pale brown. Quite the interesting dog at the least… At least for now, no weird animals were trying to kill him, though he wouldn't think that they were too weird since he already knew what they were to begin with.

Eugene stretched his arms from under the sheets of his umber and chestnut brown blanket, showing that he was no longer wearing his green hoodie and how big his muscles really were thanks to his sleeveless white tank-top. Truth be told, this was a guy who could punch most peoples lights out with one punch, and he could break fingers or limbs if he wanted to. Safely for whatever enemies he had right now, Eugene was humble about his strength. Even with his feats without having to really ever work out, he was no match to fight _those_ things off, at least not like this. He's been having these types of dreams for the last few days, with that same voice that told him that he needed to prepare himself for what was to come, and that he should be ready to leave from home once it was that time. Most of the time, it would be guaranteed that normal human beings would either not bother listening to such ridiculous gibberish in their dreams or other normal people would have thought that they have lost their shit due to age.

This green teen though? He was a bit of a fiction nerd… 'A bit', actually being a _huge_ understatement of the fact. If he weren't busy handling his real life things, he'd just kick back and dive into the world of fiction, and it didn't matter how he did it. Whether it be watching the television, or kicking back on his bed and reading a good book or mostly, whip out a gaming system and waste the day away just to play. It wasn't hard to tell that Eugene was immensely into gaming, which was easy to tell by his packed gaming shelf that he kept next to his television. You could see a good chunk of the games he owned there, multiple titles from multiple series' such as Dark Souls, the Legend of Zelda, Just Cause, and just about every main series game, and majority of the side entries of the somehow still popular Pokemon franchise. Eugene was a big fan of the Pokemon series, and used to play all of the games more religiously than Christians praised the lord. At least, he used to play them that hard until he actually 'caught them all', and became so skilled in battles that no one could even beat him anymore. That doesn't include his uncle though, the only bigger Pokemon nerd that he knew that was always able to toast his team, even took one of his legendaries after a match and saying that he wouldn't get it back until he actually beaten him in a battle, and this was about two years ago mind you. Still, facing Eugene in a battle was about as challenging as facing Red himself. Eugene still labeled himself as a Pokemon fan, though after he grinded the hell out of the recent two main releases that came out at the time, Eugene decided to hang up his career on the games until that spark finally came back, which was most likely to be never…

Eugene hopped out of his bed before he turned the television on with surprising agility for someone of his size. With the chatter-box soon coming to life in a quick flash, Eugene strolled over into the bathroom to wash himself up as well as brush his teeth. The tv still happened to be on the news from when he watched it last night. Eugene was never the fella who really cared for the news, but as of late, he's had a really good reason for staying tuned. It was _top_ priority right now.

The green teen was quick in taking care of that part of his morning routine with that in mind before he made like a swift attack and slid back into his room, the channel now coming back from its commercial break, and bringing up news about that missing teenager again… "This young man has been missing for about a week now, with still no clues on where he is, or what happened to him. Kenny-" That's all Eugene needed to hear before he tuned out the news and went into deep thought. Kenny, if anything was considered, was Eugene's best friend and vice versa, the two of them going through thick and thin together as if it were a (fake)reality tv show. Things have changed a bit over the years between them, though it wasn't anything considered too bad. With Eugene heading to a new school for a fresh start and Kenny not having his own cell phone at the time that Eugene's family had decided on it, there wasn't much in the ways of communication between the two of them nowadays unless Eugene just happened to see Kenny while he was walking to and from school. He didn't really say much about Kenny to others, but he always thought of how he was doing, and he was sure that Kenny was doing the same.

 _What happened to him…?_ No matter how hard Eugene thought, he could never come up with a good answer. Kidnapped? Killed? Not likely, there wasn't much chance in anyone trying to capture a teenager of his age unless he were the opposite gender, as sad as that truth was. Kenny always kept to himself, only fucking around with those that he felt comfortable around, so he wouldn't have enough beef with anyone for either of those things to happen, and he damn sure wouldn't actually _let_ someone try either without putting up a fight. From what he heard, the house was exactly the same way as his parents left it, the door still locked, everything still in place and everything. It wasn't likely for his family to have beef either, so that wasn't even a logical question. Still, there were too many questions with too little answers, and Eugene didn't like just waiting to hear news, though he knew it was very unlikely he would be able to find Kenny in a situation like this. He could have gone anywhere in those couple of days he's been gone. A whole other country, or even dead at this point. Nobody knew, but apparently it was driving himself and Kenny's family nuts. Eugene never heard much about them in conversation with Kenny, but his parents were searching high and low for him along with his brothers. That's what he heard, and he wouldn't doubt it. For some reason, Eugene connected this situation to his strange dreams…

 _My friend needs me, huh? Can't believe it took me_ _ **that**_ _long to figure it all out. Even if he doesn't need my help right now, I guess it's better to have me join the party. Who knows the type of shit Kenny has already gotten into._ Eugene thought back on the memories that he shared with his friend, the fight in the dirt, those countless times they went on adventures through abandoned houses and shortcuts through...bleh, _frog infested_ terrain have all been leading up to this. It would be a whole new type of adventure! He at least hoped Kenny was okay, wherever the heck he was…

Eugene went over to grab his shamrock green hoodie before he looked at his bag, packed to the brim with all sorts of equipment like clothes, snacks, and whatever other tools he felt like he needed. Perhaps he overcompensated a little...with his bag bulging and threatening to burst, but hey, couldn't be too careful when you didn't know what you were getting yourself into. With everything that was going on, he was taking whatever leads he got seriously. He didn't know what that voice meant by getting ready, but no matter what he brought with him, he felt he couldn't be anymore ready for the future that awaited him. Things couldn't possibly get much more hectic than this, right? Nonetheless, it was time to get dressed now…

 _Wherever Kenny is, you bet I'll bring him back home… It's finally time, and I could never be anymore ready. Let's do this…_

* * *

It was a few hours past midnight now, and a bunch of insane crap went down for the three of us, but Cinder was finally leading Dalieya and I to the village. Apparently it was a small town that went by the name Citamel, I didn't know much about it so far, but I sure as hell was ready to kick back in a room and relax. As of late, our adventure was continuing to go...well...weird as usual. I was attempting to listen to some music as we trudged through the soggy dirt roads and whatever huge dew blanketed leaves we passed by on the way, just keeping to myself as I usually did. Too bad that it couldn't have been a chill walk like I hoped, though it was still a little entertaining. Dalieya was still acting _very_ funny, and wasn't able to keep herself still for even a few moments...as far as walking went when it came to keeping still.

Speaking of that, Dalieya suddenly disappeared like a goblin in the darkness. Cinder was still trying to focus on leading the way for us, assumably too wrapped up in her own thoughts to notice what was going on unless we directly spoke to her, which I felt guilty enough to have to do right now.

"Hey, Cinder...you see where Dalieya got to…?" The orange canine turned to me, a slightly surprised expression on her face, probably more to the fact I suddenly snapped her out of her thoughts than to the fact that Dalieya just disappeared. I squinted my eyes, still waiting for my question to be answered, Cinder shaking her head.

"I guess I should have noticed when it suddenly got quiet...Sorry, but wasn't she right next to _you_ anyway." Cinder spat back, shooting me the same look I gave her before I threw my arms up in the air, unable to keep myself from grinning for some stupid reason.

"She's the sneakiest damn hyena I know!" I chuckled a little bit. "I dunno, maybe she just had to pee or so-"

"Giddy up horsey!" Before I could turn into the direction that was obviously Dalieya's voice, I suddenly felt a near ninety pound weight pounce onto my back that nearly made me fall over on my chest just like the last time it happened. Cinder looked near ready to yelp from the surprise of the mightyena riding on my back like I was a damn rapidash! It took all of my wimpy strength to hold the yeen's weight up there, though I wish I didn't attempt to try… Dalieya giggled while bouncing playfully on her saddle, me, making me slightly wheeze. Good thing for me that I was really learning to adjust like a champ, so it didn't take me long to hoist her up on my lap with much greater vigor than I had before, my legs no longer shaking back and forth like plucked guitar strings.

"Man, I'm like a saiyan right now!" I shouted with a raised fist, the two girls giggling though obviously not getting my reference, which was alright enough for me since everyone seemed to be in a decent mood right now.

We continued our adventure to Citamel, which didn't seem to be too far thanks to some information from Cinder. The entirety of the town was covered by thick leaves and trees, just like the rest of the rainforest, and that was the reason why a tour guide was even needed to begin with, because otherwise, chances were very likely that we wouldn't have even found the town anyway. How was that possible, a town completely protected from nature itself? Sure beats me, but it made me wonder why did the town need to be hidden to begin with. As we continued on our oh-so-merry way, Dalieya was bringing a hail of questions for our extra company, an unfortunate Cinder.

"So, Cinder, where did you come from?"

"Toisue Path, Dalieya…"

"Oh, I heard it's so nice over there! So much beautiful lakes and rivers, I always wondered what it was like over by that way!"

"They are rather beautiful, but it's a somewhat busy place with the trainers coming through left and right. I honestly don't prefer it anymore, but I did wonder if I should visit there again" Cinder giggled, getting a little more into the conversation as they went back and forth.

"Well, I guess I'm not a huge crowd person myself, so I would probably just go there to sightsee and maybe not for a stay, a lot of trainers can be annoying, not like Ken here~." Dalieya wrapped her arms around my neck in a much deeper embrace before she nuzzled into it, a contrasting cold and warm feeling coming from her nose and muzzle respectively, While it sent a chill up my spine, it was making me blush fire red and warming my heart to the max. Dalieya kissed my cheek before the two of us looked toward Cinder, who smiled at the two of us. Knowing Dalieya, she smiled back, but Cinder's smile seemed a little forced to me. I didn't know, she was helping us out, so I wanted to trust her to be genuine. Hopefully I was doing the right thing in doing so… "Do you have any siblings?"

And more questions like it was Q and A.

"Only pup in a litter. Well, I guess it wouldn't be a litter in that case, but oh well."

"Oh, so even if you're our tour guide, why are you way out here anyway if you came from Toisue Path?" A good question, actually, but I doubt we would get an answer to that.

"That's a long story, and it's one I'm not comfortable with telling. Sorry…" That confirmed my guess. I could tell that Cinder was trying to answer Dalieya's questions with grace and style, which she seemed to have plenty of when she was at her best. Obviously though, she weren't at her best now if she was at all, now with a limp tail that no longer stood high and with a nervous grin tugging her cheeks.

"Oh, well that's okay. Thank you for letting me know about you, Cinder. I know I was a bit of a bother..." Dalieya said with a cheerful ring in her voice, sounding almost as if she were singing. I assumed that she was smiling too with that, but not like I would know, she was still on my back for whatever reason and shifting her legs in that awkward way again. I hoped that she would tell me if she were slipping off.

"Don't worry about it, I'm fine." Cinder's smile was now a lot calmer, and definitely didn't give off that forced vibe this time. "Flattered that you are interested in knowing about me though." Cinder giggled as I chuckled a bit, oh poor Cinder. Dalieya probably didn't have another girl to talk to in...well, a long time. I sure didn't hang out in groups of girls to know how they acted with one another, but I had the feeling that there would be a _lot_ of talking. And I was right again…

Looking up, I could see that we had once again stumbled into a wall of huge leaves that absolutely no one decided to cut down. I was always down for just a pleasant walk, but things like this were just a bit too much when it came in front of your face every couple of seconds. "Oh, we're finally here, guys." Cinder chirped, Dalieya and I both turning to the growlithe giving her stupid looks.

"Uh, Cinder. This literally looks _no_ different than every other blockade of leaves we had to suffocate through. How could you be so sure?" I questioned, Cinder giving me a shrug, if such a thing were even possible for quadruped animals.

"I've been here long enough to know this place like the back of my paw, ya see that tree over there?" Cinder pointed toward a tree that was only about ten feet away. We could both _clearly_ see it.

"Yes, Cinder. I'm not seeing what's so special about it either…" Cinder walked over to the tree after she heard enough of my blabbering, motioning us to follow her. Doing as visibly instructed, I followed Cinder, Dalieya not really having to do any walking due to us still be stuck together like some type of conjoined twin on her own terms.

"Okay, look at the tree now." Cinder instructed before I took a mental sigh and just looked at the overgrown twig.

"Aw, how cute is that?" Dalieya squealed. On closer inspection, the tree actually was slightly different than the others. For some reason, the tree had carvings of...really corny things like hearts, and couples holding hands...or paws. Pictures of both human and what I could describe as anything other than human. Crude drawings of dog pokemon, cats, anthro pokemon like nidoking or whatever else. _Uh, is this supposed to mean something…? How cheesy can ya get?_

"Well alright, I see what you mean there." I told Cinder, Dalieya nuzzling her cheek with mine with much more affection than the first time due to those lovely drawings… At least the nuzzling was nice. "So past here is Citamel Town, huh? Let's go."

The three of us pushed our way through the thick brush side by side, with once again Dalieya not being expected to do anything due to still being on my back, expecting to soon find the village on the other side. If anyone were actually following us this whole time, they would have wondered why didn't Cinder burn through the leafy blockade, or have Dalieya use a clawing attack and make like HM01. Truth be, Cinder restricted us from doing any of that, as it's too protect the village from looters and thugs who would naturally never find their way through the forest maze as if it were a Super Mario game. I couldn't really complain, but I did wonder if there were a much bigger reason why they were trying to hide from everyone still. Was there something important there?

We finally stepped out of the bush after another few glorious moments of me choking on some delicious leaves, and what we saw amazed Dalieya and I. It wasn't a big village, but it was certainly a treat for the eyes. The homes appeared to be tree houses that stood way high, and every home and every pathway was lit with torches that gave everything a soft orange glow. As expected from the outside, colossal trees and leaves surrounded the town as if acting as some type of barricade. Beautiful plants such as red passion flowers, orchids in multiple colors like purple and pink being just a few of the examples. We could even see part of the Toisue river striking through the village and cutting it in half, stones standing sturdy just above the surface to serve as stepping stones for villagers to get across one half of the town to the other. Lilies floated in the water alongside the stones to add even more variety in the plant life. Normal people wouldn't find any of this too fascinating, but coming from Florida...it was beautiful, a sight to truly behold... Uh… Actually, it was starting to look like a discount rainforest version of Fortree City now that I thought about it...but still! A few hoothoot and noctowl soared over the little bit of sky that we could see, and the moon shined brighter than ever. We finally made it…

"Welcome to Citamel Town." Cinder said with a hint of relief in her voice, perhaps relieved that we finally made it somewhere relatively safe from harm. From the looks of things, there weren't too many humans walking about, but there were plenty of pokemon strolling as if they lived here too. Then again, next to the tree houses, anyone with decent vision could see that there were mini wooden dens next to a majority of the houses standing just as high, offering shelter to wild pokemon and their families from predators that happened to pass through or just a place to rest through the night. This was certainly a place that was close to nature…

"Thank you so much for leading us here Cinder!" Dalieya chimed before finally hopping off of my back to stand by my side. Was that a relief? I doubted it because now my back was sore as all hell, I definitely needed practice at this piggyback thing, because I felt like I would be carrying Dalieya more times than what I would think is necessary. I made sure to press my fist into my back and make myself stand up straight, lest I want to be hunchbacked at twenty years old. I still managed to smile to our growlithe friend.

"Yeah, we owe ya one, Cinder. We probably would have been stuck in that forest forever...well we still _are_ in a forest, but you get what I mean." I said with a shrug as Dalieya started muttering something to Cinder, but made sure to make it just loud enough so I could hear.

"More him than me." the mightyena snickered, Cinder joining her in giggles as I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms with a 'whatever' attitude.

"Yeah okay. Seriously though," I smiled back at Cinder. "Thanks a bunch, Cinder. I knew we could count on you either way." I grinned to the growlithe, who grinned back though a little sheepishly.

"Heh, yup, it's my job so don't even mention it. I'm happy to help, and it has been a nice chat, Dalieya and Kenny. I should head back out to scout for anymore people who tried to come here without registering in the guide schedule, as if anyone knew there was one. So, I guess for now, this is pretty much farewell." Cinder was preparing to turn back and head out, despite the hour already being late. I was a little worried for her, but I didn't really have much that came from my mouth to say.

"Wait, Cinder," Dalieya called, Cinder now stopping though she didn't exactly take a step yet. The dog turned around to meet our faces once again. "I think we should hang out later, ya know. You've been really sweet to us, and I feel like we could be like...best friends." the mightyena cutely smiling at the growlithe as she said this. I nodded an agreement to the yeen.

"Sounds like a decent idea to me too. I know you got a job and all, but it can't hurt to hang out. Guess that's what I'm here in Axael for, to have a good time." I said with a grin, noticing a little later than I would have liked of Cinder's hesitation, practically sweating through her orange fur. You know...she didn't really start acting all weird like this until Dalieya got involved...weird…

"Well, I can't say it'll kill me to give it a shot." Cinder answered, quickly regaining her composure from earlier. "Sure thing! After I scout and get some rest...perhaps we could all meet back up in the morning?"

"Sounds great! Just hope that this guy doesn't decide to sleep in." Dalieya nudged her head in my direction and giggled while I just shrugged my shoulders. It happens. Cinder smiled at the two of us.

"Okay, guess we're in agreement about that...Oh right, I should probably take you to see the elder so you could get a place to stay for the night, or however long until you guys leave. There's actually no pokemon centers around here, so the villagers always keep spare treehouses vacant for visitors if they actually find their way. To my knowledge, all of them should be open for you guys...and you could finally put those bags down, Kenny." I actually forgotten that we even had bags with Dalieya riding me like it were Nascar. Dalieya still wore my smaller bag the way she did before we left Occed, while I wore my shoulder bag to my belly and chest. I had no clue how I didn't manage to notice all of that extra weight along with Dalieya being on my body...I guess I was actually stronger than I thought...I really was a lazy butt.

"You said it." I barked it a hurry, betting that once I got this weight off of me I would be lighter than a feather. This was the closest I would get to gravity training… "Let's get going, I wanna go to bed already." With that, the three of us decided to walk together for a little longer, passing through the many plants and the calm waters just to find ourselves at the near edge of the village. On the way, I saw something in the distance, a temple of some sort, details covered loosely by trees giving off the vibe that most people probably didn't belong there, and I had no better chance, so I just took my mind off of it and continued to walk like I didn't see anything. Nothing important here…

For some reason, and I had no clue what that reason was, I had a feeling in my gut. Something in me just didn't feel normal, but it didn't lean toward a good feeling or bad. It was just something in me that was telling me that I would have to make a choice at some point, whether it be sooner or later. It sounds like a lot of gibberish, but when my gut had a feeling about something, best believe it was actually speaking the truth, even if whatever the truth was wasn't clear.

The three of us soon made it to what appeared to be the only wooden house that wasn't a treehouse. There was an old man, what you would expect from someone tilted an elder, feet kicked up as he chilled in his rocking chair. He looked pretty dang casual for someone of the most wisdom and age in the village. Where should I start? His hair was gray, actually appearing more like a sleek silver or platinum as far as I could tell, and it had a spiky style to it and he had a beard in similar style. If it weren't for the numerous wrinkles that decorated his face like a human shar-pei, I would have thought he were younger with hair like that. He wore what appeared to be a brown henley style long sleeve which was a tad bit loose on his rawboned stature...not trying to sound rude. He also wore some… pink striped pajamas underneath? It was an interesting sight to say the least...and Dalieya and I couldn't tell if he was raring to get the day(night) started, or if he was planning to hit the hay. Cinder didn't really seem to care, knowing him for longer than we had, perhaps the growlithe already knew what to expect. As we stepped forward the the elder's patio, he slowly opened his eyes, which were closed before, showing us his silver colored eyes. How odd.

"Oh, greetings, Cinder. I honestly didn't expect you to be back so soon," he told the growlithe with a smile through his bushy beard. "I see that you brought some guest too. That, I've been expecting."

Dalieya gave the elder a smile that gave her usual, happy go lucky 'Hi, nice to meet you!'. I decided to just stick to an admittingly awkward wave, making new friends was never my strong suit if no one could tell by now… How did he already expect visitors to be coming today? Especially when Cinder said that Citamel barely got visitors at all due to not being able to find the place without her to help guide them. Man, this is weird, and there was nowhere for things to go but to even weirder levels…

"Yeah, I found em out in the forest, like I usually find lost travelers. They said they were trying to find their way here anyway, so I guess it works out. This is Kenny and Dalieya, elder." Cinder told Elderly Dude, who gave out a hearty laugh for someone with little meat on their bones.

"I told you that you don't always have to address me so formerly, Cinder. You're quite alright to call me by my name like everyone else does, eheheheh!" Elder chuckled, Cinder blushing a little and skipping her paw while giving a much more awkward chuckle.

"Sorry, Ly." Cinder said with slightly lowered ears before the elderly man, dubbed Ly, rubbed her through her long cream hair, the dog now giving a bright smile.

"Quite alright, really." Ly told her before turning to the two of us. "Pleasure, name's Lysander, but as you heard from Cinder here, I prefer something short, like Ly." he told Dalieya and I with a chuckle before extending his hand to me, which I met with my own. I was taken a little by surprise with how tight his grip actually was, strong enough to meet my own at the least. He did the same to Dalieya, even though she had paws. The yeen vigorously shook hand and paw with him nonetheless.

"Dalieya, and this is my mate, Kenny!" the mightyena told him proudly, while I blushed a little in embarrassment while Cinder looked as if her throat got dry again. Ly chuckled at her enthusiasm of putting our relationship in the known, but once again, welcome to Axael...where weirdos like me got to live out their dream of dating one of their favorite pokemon without someone snatching me and yanking me into the nearest church to start screaming, er...holy words, while throwing water on me only to find that I don't burn from it… Moving on…

"Nice to meet you, Ly." I greeted with a nod. "The two of us are just on a journey, and it's been a long night for pretty much all of us I'm sure. For now, all I want is a place to just kick my feet up like you, heheh," I joked. "Sorry if I didn't sound too polite there." Ly quickly shook his hands in a dismissive way.

"Not at all, I can tell that it's been a trying time. Perhaps we could continue to talk sometime when the sun is out, I should take the two of you somewhere where you can rest." Ly smiled, Dalieya and I both nodding our heads in agreement before turning toward Cinder, who caught our attention with clearing her throat.

"Guess this is where we part ways for now, I'll catch up with you two in the morning. I'm looking forward to it." Cinder told us with a grin, seemingly finally turning back to her normal personality with the presence of Ly, who I was starting to think was her owner by now. Dalieya and I both nodded to the fire dog.

"Sounds good to us," I spoke for both Dalieya and I before giving Cinder a salute. "Definitely looking forward to it, my friend." Dalieya gave Cinder a big, nothing but love filled smile that told Cinder to be safe out in the woods wordlessly. Cinder gave a small smile to the both of us before she dashed off into the trees, leaving only Dalieya, Ly, and I. What an admirable dudette, I certainly hoped that we got to see more of her, and I knew that Dalieya had similar thoughts with more enthusiasm.

"Heh, I see that you already managed to make friends with her. You wouldn't believe it, but she was really all to herself before she settled in here, it took a lot of food just to get her to talk to everyone." Ly laughed before he stepped ahead of the two of us, signaling for us to follow him. "Anyway, let's not waste much time. Let's get going, so we can get you two settled in a treehouse already."

And from there, we were making our way to the forefront of the village again, pretty much making that extra couple of minutes walking all the way to the other side not even worth it if it weren't for meeting the elder. I happened to pass by the sight of that temple again, still seeing the detail of it no better than the last time. Once again, I decided to ignore it. It was interesting and it wasn't hard to tell that I wanted to make like Temple Run and dash through it, but someone like me would never be allowed in such a sacred place to start with. The walk was quiet for the most part, conversation practically nonexistent while Dalieya basked in the serenity of the village, which I never got tired of looking at.

"Soooooo…" Ly said in an attempt to break the silence. "You two are on an adventure, likely traveling the region, right? It's good to take in everything you have while you still have the time to see it." I nodded to Ly, and Dalieya likely agreed.

"Yeah, you're telling me. Traveling Axael has already been an expedition for the ages to me, I haven't gotten too far yet...but I'm having fun in the least. I wouldn't get to see the things that I have seen so far back at home to be honest." I adjusted the gym bag on my shoulders a little, starting to get a little fed up with having its straps tug at my shoulders for so long. Ly chuckled and turned his head to see the two of us, a grin through his beard and a sudden spark in his eye.

"Heh...Well, would you suppose that coming from another universe was an adventure in its own way?" Ly asked with a grin, Dalieya suddenly stopping her trot as I was a little too deep in my own monologue.

 _Well not really, because I literally had my eyes closed when I- WHOA WHOA WHOA What the fuck!?_ I finally stopped in my tracks just as Dalieya had as Ly started to chuckle, my mate and I giving what had to be the most stupid expressions in the history of ever. I couldn't even properly describe how freaked out I was, and Dalieya was just as spooked as I was. I brought what had to be my most fake, most forced smile on my face like I was suddenly working in customer service...my biggest fear actually.

"Uh...How did you know that? We just met you, Ly." Dalieya said, more curious than anything else before she sat next to me and nuzzled into my leg, calming me down a little. I suppose that I shouldn't be fearful, but I didn't know what to expect, this day was sure full of surprises but at least I didn't have to hide anything from this guy, because that was probably my greatest secret to begin with.

"Yeah, I'm wondering that too…" I looked over my clothes, I was _still_ in pokemon universe clothes. What the fuck was so off about me that Ly immediately guessed that I wasn't from this world at all? Perhaps it were no guess…

"Well, you two will find out at some point, it isn't really important right now." Ly said with a bit of tease in his voice, probably knowing that I was screaming inside of my head when he said that. I really hate it when people have secrets with me being the topic and they won't tell me anything! _Ugh...best to let it go…_

"Have it your way, I'll find out one way or another." I said, only caring about sitting my lazy butt on a bed or anything human made that was meant for being a tub of lard. The couch shall do.

"Well, I think that treehouse right there should suit the two of you just dandy," Ly chimed, Dalieya and I looking up to the house where he was pointing. Just like an actual house, just made of wood, and over twenty feet high, nothing really special, looked just the same as the other houses.

"Can't complain, looks roomy enough." I said, walking over to the wooden ladder that was nailed to the tree the house stood on and preparing to climb before I suddenly stopped and looked back at Dalieya, who sat there somewhat awkwardly. "Yeeeeeah, I doubt I can have her on my back without either of us falling off or the ladder breaking. So…"

Ly raised his hand up to allow him to speak, so I gave him center stage. "She can just use the lift, it's quite safe," Ly pointed to a fixed pulley system with a wooden platform for pokemon who couldn't climb could stand on. It was literally right next to the ladder too, being connected to the roof of the house. A rope was tight in place next to it, which also went up to the patio of the treehouse, there were two places where I could pull the rope to get her up and down. It was a lot easier to grasp than my poor explaining could tell, but it was the same thing as moving the blinds back and forth for the back door at my house back at home. Basically, pull one side for up, another for down. I snapped my fingers.

"I got it! I think I can take care of things from here, thanks so much, Ly." I barked with a pump of my fist, Dalieya whooping and cheering, happy that there was a way that she could join me in our treetop home, as if I would allow myself to sleep in there without her. No way.

"Thank you, Ly. We really appreciate everything that you and Cinder have done for us, you certainly are an interesting elder for sure. I think I can speak for both of us when I say that we want to talk to you some more...about, well...everything." Dalieya added with a giggle, and that was the truth.

"Couldn't have said it better myself." I chuckled, Ly nodding to the both of us.

"Well, we'll see what happens in time. For now, I guess this is a so long until we meet again tomorrow. I can promise you that the next few days will be busy around here, but we'll just have to worry about that then, for now, just get some rest. We have a lot to talk about…" Ly chuckled too, not leaving before taking the chance to shake our hands again, Dalieya after I. "Make sure you take care of him now, Dalieya, I can tell that you love him very much." The mightyena giggled.

"With my life, I pretty much consider it my destiny at this point, I love Kenny with all my heart..." Dalieya told him before giving me a smile warm enough to make my heart burst like Fourth of July fireworks. If someone heard of how much I was happy to have a girl like Dalieya as my mate, they'd probably get sick of hearing me bitch on at this point, but I loved her to death, and though we haven't been through a lot, I knew that she would have my back when the times got really tough.

"I know that you'll stick to that, but with love as strong as yours, you'll either live together until your old, or both die together while you're still young. You'll face some tough times, and decisions that make you doubt yourselves...but never forget that your love for one another is the most important thing in your lives." Ly's smile was kind and genuine, even through his beard. I didn't know whether or not to lean more toward nervousness or overwhelming happiness when Dalieya stared at me with that beautiful blushing smile. "But like I said, enjoy yourselves. I'll be sure to meet with you at some time tomorrow…" I gave Ly a two finger salute.

"You better count on it. We'll be heading in now," I told Ly.

"Take care of yourself, and thanks again for everything!" Dalieya called to him as he walked away with a friendly wave, leaving the both of us to our own devices. Guess it was time to finally get settled in…

* * *

The inside of our temporary treetop home looked pretty damn cool and roomy to say the least, and the best of all...quiet, just what Dalieya and I actually needed after our hectic and unusual night. There was a living room, a small kitchen and a hallway which had four different rooms, three of which were bedrooms, and the last was thankfully a bathroom. I definitely did not want to have thoughts of some wild pokemon staring at my privates while I took a piss… Needless to say that Dalieya and I both threw off my bags in a hurry on the living room floor and I kicked off my shoes. Don't worry, we wiped our feet on the mat outside. After kicking off my socks, I was left in my bare feet, hoping that the wooden floor didn't have any splinters. Lucky for me, the floor was much smoother than me at a nightclub.

Dalieya and I instantly pounced onto the couch, great minds thinking alike it seemed. I gave a very long, exaggerated sigh as my head practically disappeared in the soft cushions of the couch. _This is the life…_ I still had decent enough eyesight to notice Dalieya shifting closer to me once again with that blush on her face, making me pull my head out and smirk at the sneaky hyena. Her head laid on my shoulder before she licked my chin, making me blush and chuckle.

"You know, Dalieya, you've been really affectionate lately, more than usual at least and you still have that itch it seems. Is there something that you're not telling me that I should know?" I gave Dalieya a teasing grin as I watched her gulp to give some moisture to her suddenly dry throat. Honestly, it felt a little too good to see that I actually had _Dalieya_ under me blushing for once.

"I-I..um..No, everything is a-okay with me. I just...want another kiss. Please?" Dalieya quickly lost the stuttering in her voice and gave me her trademark sweet smile before I laughed a little. Was she serious? Why would she even bother asking such a silly question like that? Of course she could-

Dalieya turned the tables to where she was on top of me in seconds and she didn't hesitate in locking lips with me before I could even answer her question. I was caught by surprise for sure, but I damn sure wasn't going to waste the chance to return the loving embrace of her warm kiss. I kissed the mightyena with just as much passion as she gave me, cupping my hands around her cheeks and enjoying the touch of her soft fur. There was no place that I would rather be than right here with the love of my life. Dalieya grinned at me before after she parted our lips, leaving me wanting to ask if I could have another kiss too.

Before I could ask that question though, the mightyena decided to go deep, and suddenly she was all over my neck. I shivered, quivered, and everything similar as the hyena carefully dragged her tongue over the side of my neck and she was _very_ slow in doing so. Dalieya gave a mischievous grin of accomplishment, but she sure didn't say it was over. I was already enjoying her ministrations a little more than I was supposed to, as able to tell by a certain stirring in my groins and my face blushing the hardest that it ever had. I did my best to stay in control, but as if reading my mind, Dalieya crawled on top of me, sitting on my lap and damn near straddling me now as she moved her lips up to my ear to lick and nibble at it. All of this was so sudden for a sweet and somewhat motherly girl like Dalieya, and I had the feeling she knew _exactly_ what she was doing. Her tail wagged behind her to a vigorous beat as the mood went from calm to mighty freaky real quick. Her warm, fluffy, sexy body was right there on me in that loving embrace, something that I've never experienced before, in this way. I wrapped my arms around the soft yeen before I started to kiss under her chin. I honestly felt like the school geek who got to make out with the world's top supermodel, an intimacy dream come true. _To think that I used to not care about love, oh I hope this moment never-_

My eyes, along with Dalieya's shot wide open as a pink flash suddenly covered the whole room in light. With that, there was a voice….singing a...digimon theme? "Here we go! Oh oh, oh oh, oh oh oh, oh oh, oh oh, oh oh! Here we go! Oh, oh-" the young man, a teenager wearing some green hoodie mimicked as he suddenly appeared in the room, making the two of us immediately stop what we were doing with looks of pure shock as our bodies became paralyzed. As I got a better look at the dude, with features too familiar for me not to notice and vice versa, both of our mouths nearly dropped to the floor like anvils.

It was the motherfucking Leafy Leak fiasco all over again!

* * *

Cinder felt terrible for lying to Dalieya, and felt perhaps she was a little too good at it by this point. She knew it wasn't a big life-staking lie, but she certainly wasn't scouting like she said she would. The doggy was just sitting outside of the village where it was safe to assume that Dalieya and Kenny wouldn't find her. _It's been awhile since I've seen Dalieya, she gets more beautiful by the day…_ Cinder sighed. _I guess it's safe to say that she's gotten over the death of Sanin, I wish things didn't happen the way that they did...but at least she's happy still with Kenny. Oh whatever god exists, please don't make me do it again… I can't do it anymore, I don't want her to suffer more…_ Cinder had never fell in love before, but she had an idea of how quick it could actually happen now, along with how easy it was to tear someone apart through it. Love was a dangerous affair, but it seemed to bring Dalieya back on top. The growlithe could still remember her sobs, sound as clear as day, and making for a cold feeling in her heart. It really was all her fault, she couldn't feel more ashamed of herself if she tried. Dalieya was just as happy and casual as when the two of them first met as if everything were fine, but then again...things sure wouldn't be fine if Dalieya knew that she were part of what was to blame, there was no way that she could ever be forgiven.

Cinder sighed, not wanting she see that happy go lucky positivity and overbearing love suddenly disappear. It was too much for the dog to handle again, but she had to carry that weight for the rest of her life until the day she died. _I still can't believe it...she showed me so much kindness without even knowing my name or what I looked like…_

" _ **You should try to be a little more careful, dear. You're lucky it was only just a little sprain, even if you're training, you shouldn't let your trainer push you so hard…" Dalieya told a growlithe in what appeared to be a black hoodie that covered most of her face besides her muzzle, which gave off none of her features besides her feminine voice. Apparently, this was a time a while before the mightyena met Kenny. Hoodie Dog nodded an agreement, not being able to believe that she was being so nice to a pokemon that covered her own face. At first, she thought it were some kind of joke.**_

" _ **Sorry, I just can't help but get stronger. I kinda just...have to. It's my job." the dog told the mightyena bluntly, without much emotion in her voice.**_

" _ **You don't have to do anything, just do what you truly think is right. Listen to your heart above anything and anyone else, and eventually you'll do the right thing, it's never too late to decide where you want to take your life." Dalieya had a somewhat motherly tone in her voice as she took it upon herself to wrap the growlithe's twisted paw in some gauze to keep it from getting anymore damage. "Anyway, if you ever need someone to talk when you want to get away from your trainer, just come to Sanin and me. I'll even make Sanin help get you away from him so you can have somewhere to relax and everything, from what you tell me, he sure works you to the ground. We'll always be willing to take you in. Remember that."**_

" _ **Yeah, thank you…"**_

Tears started to fall down Cinder's face as she recalled days where her and Dalieya hanged out when she was supposed to be doing her job. Dalieya was like a sister to her, caring and kind with a sense of understanding. Cinder shut her eyes, hoping that the tears would go away, only doing her worse when more tears came down her face. She knew better then to get attached, but over the days they hanged out, she found herself doing the one thing that she wasn't supposed to do with her job, and it only made it all the worse in the end, and now she felt like yesterday's dog shit. _It's like it's happening all over again…_

"You don't look as enthusiastic as you did earlier, Cinder. What's the matter? Weren't you going out to scout for more lost people?" a voice asked from behind the orange dog. Cinder knew his voice too well to not immediately guess that it was Ly. She turned around to face the old man once she knew that she was caught, tears still in her eyes, she didn't give him an answer to either of his questions. "...Cinder, you know that the both of them will find out sooner or later, and sooner could be a lot sooner than you may think. Most people prefer to be told the truth versus being deceived when it's already too late. You have strength in what you believe is the truth, which is how you got this far, even if your mission hasn't taken you too far yet. You know as well as I that you need them on your side, and they will definitely need you on theirs when the time finally comes. Just like both you and the human will depend on the mightyena's love and compassion, they will depend on you with your trust. Their future depends on whether or not you keep your secrets…"

Cinder knew that Ly was telling the truth, knowing more of what was going on than she could ever hope to know. The orange dog didn't know if she could man...or woman up to do the same, she didn't want to see Dalieya sad again, but it seemed like no matter what decision she made, that was going to be a guilt that she would have to stand up to. She really didn't have much of a choice…

"Just take your time Cinder, I know that this is painful for you, but you have time to let them know. Your destiny depends on you being truthful to your friends, and I am sure they'll understand when the time comes and eventually forgive you. If you want to end this madness, you must follow your heart…" Ly gave Cinder a small pat of her head before he turned back in the direction of the village. "Have no fear, Cinder, I know you'll do the right thing…"

"Yeah...The right thing…"

* * *

This had to be bullshit, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Dalieya and I staring at this dude in his green hoodie, beefy stature, and gruff facial features. Everything about him was all too familiar, his shoes, the way he dressed, I even recognized that huge duffel bag that he was carrying that threatened to burst with clothes and whatever else was in there. That dude stared right back at us, the same look of shock on his face as my own. _Of course….Eugene shows up once again out of the blue with no warning on a random day of the week like always, and he just so happens to show up just in time to catch me making out with my pokemon girlfriend. Yeeeeeeah, how perfect. Should I be happy or scared?_

I gently pushed Dalieya off of me to where she sat up on the couch on her own cushion, where I did the same, pulling the collar of my hoodie as the room suddenly felt like it picked up ten degrees with everyone's face nearly burning from the blushes. Before either Dalieya and I could say anything, Eugene suddenly shot his eyes wide open, as if he literally _just_ noticed something out of the ordinary.

"Holy crap! Is that a mightyena?!" my long time friend gawked at the sight of Dalieya, who stared at him with a slightly surprised expression, less than our surprise when he first appeared. Did he...not notice that this mightyena was literally on top of me doing...very intimate activities? Dalieya gave a somewhat awkward giggle as her legs started to shift in that weird way again, holding themselves back from before, she gave a smile to the new face nonetheless like she always did.

"Yeah, hey, Eugene. Welcome to the wonderful world of Pokemon." I told the slightly older teen lamely as I spread my arms out as if showing off a well lit stage. Seeing my friend give me a smile and somehow not give give a flying damn that I was kissing said mightyena, I picked up my mood a little. "Man, I haven't seen you in so long, and I never expected you to show up here too...while my girlfriend and I were...well... _entertaining_ each other, hahahahaha…" I chuckled, Dalieya looking back and forth between the two of us, possibly wondering how did I know this guy's name and probably still where he even came from. To our surprise, more Dalieya's than my own, Eugene laughed it off like it was nothing.

"Oh god, Kenny… If I knew I was coming into the world of _freaking_ Pokemon, I would have already saw it coming. You never leave me alone about how cute you think some of these pokemon are." Eugene bursted into a fit of laughter as my throat became dry, Dalieya once again blushing a fair amount, almost looking as if she wanted to hide her face, but she seemed too curious to do so.

"Um, Kenny, do you actually know him?" Dalieya asked, looking between Eugene and I as he walked forward and slapped hands with me before we gave each other a brotherly hug with a slap on the back, his slap being much more forceful than my own, threatening to make me cough. Once released, I gave the mightyena a nod.

"Yeah, ...haven't told you about Eugene yet have I? Man, I haven't talked to him in so long but I haven't forgot he existed...he kinda just becomes like part of my spirit when we don't talk for a while. My bad." I told Dalieya with a shrug, the mightyena tilting her head. She had a right to be confused, being in this new world was sure doing a lot to my memories back at home, probably because I didn't have a lot of good ones lately.

"Hey wait, you can actually talk too?" Eugene asked Dalieya, catching both the mightyena and I by surprise. _He can understand pokemon too, huh? Guess we better find a way to explain it before it gets too complicated…_

"Well, you might as well join the club of people who can understand pokemon without a translator...now that I think about it, Ly didn't wear one either though he was able to understand Cinder and me, but I'm pretty sure he's actually from our world...How strange…" Dalieya answered for the both of us, making me literally just notice that the thing people wore around their ears were translators that let them understand pokemon. Boy, they must've cost a pretty penny, but that was still the least of my concerns. I was honestly still unsettled with the thought that I was about to get wild with a pokemon while someone watched, I was a little too freaked out though my friend said he saw it coming. Still, I tried to brush it off of my shoulder for the time being.

"Well, Eugene, meet Dalieya, she's my-"

"Mate! In case you haven't heard it the first time." Dalieya barked with pride, much faster than I would say at least. Eugene only smiled to the yeen and chuckled to himself for a solid few seconds, probably getting a kick from the look on my face.

"Heheheh, I've figured…" Eugene chuckled. I knew that I told this guy quite a few times about my weird fetishes and love fantasies...but it was too weird to actually get caught doing the act, especially since I've never thought about kissing a dog in real life, or rather in my world. Dalieya and Eugene shook hand and paw with one another, safe to say Eugene was already getting used to the world faster than I was, less explaining that I have to do. "Still, I must've dropped in at a bad time, huh? I didn't really have any real say in it and I didn't know what I expected to see when I got here, so...yeah." Eugene gave an awkward laugh as I rubbed the back of my head, chuckling with him and shrugging. Still a little red in the face, Dalieya decided to answer for the both of us.

"It's nice to meet you, Eugene, but don't worry about anything, we were just _resting_ after our walk over here. The two of us were traveling and we happened to make a stop here in Citamel Town…"

"We're not in Johto, or anywhere that we actually know by the way." I added for Dalieya, who nodded in agreement with her usual kind smile as Eugene tried to process all of the information that we were feeding him so far.

"Yes," Dalieya continued, thanking me with a kiss to my cheek, which made me blush at it always did. "You probably don't have a place to stay, considering that you just came from another world and all that. Why don't you join us?" Dalieya told my friend sweetly, not like he had much of a choice anyway. I actually perked up with a grin from the thought of Eugene joining up with us, feeling rather confident in fact!

"Oh hell yeah! That'll be great! Going on adventures just like old times!" I shouted before Eugene and I slapped hands once more, already seeming to be in an agreement.

"As far as I know, that's what I'm here for, guess I'm gonna be stuck here either way it goes. Got a room where I can unpack…?" Eugene asked before we all looked to his bag, still rumbling with the threat of exploding like a volcano. Yeah...best to get that taken of…

"Overcompensate as usual...But...can't say I did much better. We haven't even settled in ourselves, so just pick any room, I need to do the same now that I think about it…" I told Eugene with a snigger, who shrugged at my comment.

"Overcompensating beats procrastination, so you keep saying that." Eugene said with a smirk before picking up his hazardous bag and heading into one of the rooms and shutting the door behind him while I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms. Still the same Eugene...but I felt even better than I did before with him tagging along with us, this was really starting to become like the anime…

"Well, shall we get to unpacking?" Dalieya asked me before hopping off the couch, still seeming a little bummed out from that sudden interruption that we had, but she still brought herself up with a smile. I wonder how far was she planning to go…

After a couple of questions from Eugene regarding things such as what the hell happened to his wallet, and other similar questions that I had when I first came here being answered, Dalieya and I were left to finally unpack in our own room. Dalieya was silent the entire time while I stashed my clothes in the closet, actually finding out that there were outlets that actually worked for charging my phone. In a treehouse? Anyone's guess is as good as mine, but I was definitely concerned more about my suddenly mute mate, who continued to shift her legs in that strange way while looking doom and gloom. The mightyena whimpered under her breath, almost too low for me to hear. I frowned, there was definitely something in the air that she wasn't telling me, and now I felt terrible for joking about it.

"Hey, Dalieya...is everything okay?" Dalieya was busy putting my now empty bags into the closet along with my clothes, but still didn't miss the chance to turn and smile at me. No matter if forced or not, her smiles were always so cute…

"Don't worry, Ken, I'm fine. I'm just still surprised about your friend coming here. I'm actually pretty happy that he's coming with us, he seems capable and I feel like it's for the better! It's just that because he's your friend, I worry for him just like I worry for you…" Dalieya gave a small smile before I walked over to the yeen and took her in for a deep hug.

"Man, you are really sweet, Dalieya…" The mightyena licked my cheek before I stood up and sat back on the bed, still disappointingly in my same thoughts from earlier while Dalieya seemed to be going on about something in her own thoughts as well. I didn't know why I was still so embarrassed about Eugene seeing us just making out, but I guess I was just still scared about other, less understanding people appearing out of the blue like he suddenly did. Eugene and I have been best friends for a long time, so he knew a _lot_ more about the things I like than he even wanted to… Still, I was starting to ask myself some questions that I should have asked myself a while ago.

 _I thrusted myself into this relationship with Dalieya so fast, but...I can't say that I have any regrets about it. Dalieya has been a great mate, she always looked out for me and took care of me even when we weren't together. Love is so weird, and it happens so fast that at this point I can't remember a time where I didn't love Dalieya the way that I do now. I love her so much, but sudden things like this still make it feel like it was a dream that I didn't wake up from. I still think Dalieya's hiding some secret from me, and I had no idea why she wouldn't tell me. I sound like a jerk, but I'm starting to question if she really trusts me. If I knew anything, she definitely didn't get rid of that itch. Something's going on…_

* * *

While Kenny and Dalieya were doing their own thing, Eugene kept himself busy with unpacking like he said that he would, finally cleaning out that mess of a bag before there could be an explosion of his equipment, which he felt anxious to stuff back in when the time came for them to leave. A dangerous job for a brave soldier. The shamrock hoodie wearing teen had less clue of what his reason was for being here than Kenny did, but he guessed that he should protect his friend like he always did. _It feels good to see Kenny again after so long, odd to have my best friend that I haven't seen in a while suddenly become my roommate, with his pokemon girlfriend._ Eugene couldn't help himself from giving a deep chortle. He just hoped that they didn't keep him up at night if they were already getting freaky, otherwise there would be a problem. Nobody fucked with Eugene and his sleep.

"I wonder if those dreams that I had have any meaning here…" the teen said to himself. "Eh, who cares? This is the freaking world of pokemon!" Eugene smirked and gave a pump to his meaty fist. He was finally on his own pokemon journey for real! It wasn't just a game anymore, and this is exactly what he needed to bring that spark back that he had been missing for so long. Tomorrow was a new day...even if it was morning when he left!

* * *

Dalieya, Eugene and I met back out in the living room after we were all done with putting away our stuff, some doing a neater job than others… Eugene grabbed the remote that was sitting on the wooden table and turned on the television before the three of us kicked back on the couch with me in the middle. Dalieya looked at the both of us from her spot at the end of the couch before she rested her head on my chest and smiled.

"So, since you'll be joining us, Eugene...and you seem to be good friends with Ken, would anyone of you mind telling me how you met? I'm really interested in hearing your story." Dalieya asked, swaying her tail as Eugene and I looked at one another and shrugged, giving each other a silent 'why not?'.

"Sure, it ain't no great story though, so we'll just give you the short and skinny." I told Dalieya. "Guess you could say we met in elementary school, Eugene being quite the introvert. Heck, he still kinda is!" I laughed as Eugene rolled eyes, not really caring about being an introvert. Despite his rough and tough exterior, the dude was really nice underneath all of that, I'd say he's better than me in the moral sense and in the physical sense.

"If you went to elementary with us, you would see Kenny in a much different light. He was everywhere around the school and talking to everyone he saw. I remember that he was bothering me so much that I grabbed his hand and almost broke his finger." Eugene chuckled, Dalieya gasping and covering her mouth with her paws while I tapped my chin in thought and frowned.

"You know, I _still_ don't remember that actually happening," I said before I got a look at the terrified expression on Dalieya's face. I giggled at her worry and kissed her nose to calm her down, even if it only did little justice. "Don't worry, Dalieya, my finger never broke in the least, I would actually remember if something like that happened. Anyway, we somehow became the best of friends in middle school. Whatever problems we had before suddenly didn't exist anymore. It's a little pathetic that I can't remember how it happened, but man I would never turn back!" Eugene and I fist bumped, Dalieya smiled at the sight of our friendship.

"We had tons of adventures and been through a lot as friends...and I mean _**a lot.**_ " Eugene added before I nodded an agreement.

"Being friends with _this_ guy," I jabbed my thumb in Eugene's direction. "Was pretty much my biggest adventure before now, being with you." I whispered to Dalieya, though loud enough for Eugene to hear before I gave the mightyena a quick kiss that made her smile at me cutely with a blush.

"Awww, how nice of you to say. You two really do look like you make a great team." Dalieya complimented before Eugene grinned.

"Even if I don't know what to think of all of this pokemon and human dating thing, I gotta say, Ken, dude, you certainly picked a good girl to call the one." Eugene smiled as Dalieya pulled me into a soft hug and licked my cheek. I couldn't resist hugging the yeen back as she nuzzled into my neck.

"Certainly! I'll never let anyone take him away from me!" squealed Dalieya as I laughed silently to myself once again at her enthusiasm to protect me. This was certainly an interesting night all together…

A near hour has passed with me filling Eugene in on the majority of what happened on our adventure so far. I tried to just fill him in on the more important details, like kicking that dude in the nuts at the skating rink, which we all went into an outburst of laughter when mentioned. Wondered how that guy's balls were doing now, probably fell off or something hopefully. "Anyway, we'll probably be out of here after a few days so I didn't plan on getting _super_ comfortable, ya know? Certainly isn't everyday you get to go on a pokemon adventure and see places like this right?" Eugene gave me a nod of confirmation as he continued to sip on his water while we chatted about pokemon this and pokemon that. Two pokemon geeks in the pokemon world together. We were far from ten now, but we sure felt almost ten years younger again for the first time in a long while. "So have you been up to anything lately?"

Eugene shrugged his shoulders and sighed. "Nah, what about you? Have you drawn or written anything for your comics lately?" Eugene asked with a raised eyebrow as Dalieya suddenly perked up from his question.

"Assuming that you mean before I came here, no, I haven't been doodling much at all, I honestly can't remember the last thing that I drew, heheheh." I chuckled.

"Wait wait wait! You mean that you can draw _and_ write on top of being a great cook!? That's amazing, oh I wish you would have brought some of your work so you could show me…" Dalieya praised, staring at me like I was some sort of superstar all of a sudden. I sweated and rubbed the back of my head as my face turned deep red.

"Well...I don't know if my writing is all that great...but I guess I'm a bit of an artist as far as-" Eugene slapped his hand over my mouth before I could even bother to finish my sentence.

"Don't listen to him, he's a decent writer and a much better artist! Dude's been drawing since we were kids. I mean, he's got a long way to go…" Eugene started, earning an eye roll from me though I could agree with him, I just wish he wouldn't give me so much praise. I didn't really think that I was good at anything. "...But he's one of the best artists that I know!"

Dalieya snorted. "So he's not just modest around me then." The mightyena stuck her nose up as she gave me a playful glare that made me pull the collar of my black hoodie, which I still didn't bother to take off. "You're definitely drawing me like one of your Kalos girls in that case...I hope you don't have any girls besides me though," the mightyena giggled, soon noticing the lost expressions on our faces. If that was a joke, we didn't get it at all… Dalieya rolled her eyes at the both of us. "I consider myself lucky that you have told me the similarities between your countries and our own...I literally just said draw me like one of your French girls…"

Needless to say, the two of us still didn't find the joke funny due to her having to explain it. Now it was just awkward… To brush away the feeling of awkwardness, we all turned toward the television in perfect sync so that we would have something else to talk about, Dalieya with a bit of a pout. I gave the mightyena a grin before I pulled her close to me and snuggled with her, making her smile at me a bit before licking my chin, Eugene rolling his eyes and turning to the television that remained ignored until now.

"What a coincidence, it's the news, just like I was watching before I left the house…" Eugene said, more to himself than the two of us, but that definitely caught my attention.

"Why were you watching the news, dude? You barely ever watched it…" I questioned, more curious than anything. I must have missed more than I thought, because I could have sworn that neither of us paid heed to the news… Eugene gave me a frown.

"You're family's worried about you. Ever since I heard that you were missing, I watched the news nonstop for anything that was about you. Your parents are searching high and low for you right now, dude, apparently, they think that it's their fault, and that you're probably dead or killed yourself…"

Dalieya and I both frowned, the mightyena giving me a look of sympathy as she dug her head into my chest. "W...What…? Wow, I guess I wasn't expecting them to actually be looking for me…" I said mostly to myself as I caught Dalieya smiling at me from the corner of her eye, perhaps happy that I noticed that my family actually did care that I was gone. I remember that talk we had on my first night here...her giving me hope that my parents and I could one day make that connection that we never did before I became a complete adult. I was really starting to miss them the more that I thought of it…

"I'm sure your family will be up in arms about you missing too, you guys are like a pack of fucking wolves, literally. Anyway, I feel like changing the channel, the news is way too boring for me." I told Eugene and Dalieya before reaching for the remote that laid on the table in front of us, Dalieya swatting my hand away before I could even reach it.

"Wait, I want to see if those growlithe and electrike pups found a home yet!" Dalieya blurted out, her eyes now glued to the television as Eugene and I groaned and threw our hands in the air. Sure, the two of us loved dogs to death, living with plenty of them through our childhoods and even had one traveling with us, but the news was fucking boring!

But our minds were about to change…

The anchorwoman on the screen stacked a few sheets of paper on the desk where she sat, her arms slightly shaking as she read over her script. "Hello, Trisha Banks here to bring you more about the news of another brutal murder, this time in the well populated Occed City…" Trisha informed, the screen now showing the picture of a man, a man that was all too familiar to Dalieya and I, making the two of us shoot our eyes open.

"Holy shit…" I nearly stuttered, looking at Dalieya, whose face was paler than my own as she started at the screen. "It's that lucario guy, the one we met in Occed…" Dalieya slowly nodded as I brought my attention back to the screen and slightly shuddered, Eugene giving us looks that he had no idea what was going on. Even if I didn't even take note of any of his features when we met, his face was as clear as daylight. Lucario Guy of all people...murdered…?

"Richard Gracy, a young man at just twenty-two was murdered in his own home in a very brutal way just earlier tonight, his pokemon had allowed us to show the body in hopes that anyone will have any clue of who did this…" Dalieya's ears flattened against her head as we saw the lucario still in tears, parts of her body bruised and some of her fur singed from her body as if she had just came out of a fight and lost. One of the news people were asking the lucario if she could give some insight, but the blue dog was practically drowning in a lake of her own tears at this point. Seeing that she was in no mood to talk, the tv gave the three of us a close up look at what his body actually looked like...and it was fucking disgusting…

Eugene cringed immediately after seeing the body of Richard while Dalieya and I were both petrified from what he saw. His once spiky brown hair was now ripped straight out of his scalp, spread across the floor in strands that floated on the sea of blood under his cold and lifeless body...just like Melody… With a close up, we could see that his throat was cut clearly with a zigzag pattern, causing his blood to ooze like a waterfall over his throat while his shirt was torn in two, his chest having the words 'Pitch-Black' engraved in his body like a tombstone. Of course, I thought that I was the only one to have actually seen this before…

I found myself falling on my side on the couch with Dalieya forcefully yanking herself away from my hold and started to tremble at the sight of Richard's dead body. Eugene and I looked her way with frowns of concern, and we saw that tears were starting to fall down her cheeks. "S-Sanin...oh my g-god... " Dalieya suddenly broke out in an outburst of tears, her body never ceasing its shaking as she refused to take her eyes off of the screen.

"Dalieya, are you okay? What's the matter?" I asked the yeen with as calm of a voice as I could muster, though it didn't take much to tell from my face that I was fearing for her. Dalieya faced me, her eyes completely water logged with salty tears, her lip trembling like the rest of her body as I held her paw with my hands.

"T-That's...the way...S-Sanin died…" Dalieya snatched her paw away from me and dashed into our room, her sobs growing even louder when she slammed the door shut behind her. _What…?_

Eugene was left to stare at me with a slightly surprised expression when it came to her reaction, being none the wiser without me telling him any details about Sanin for Dalieya's sake. I knew what I had to do though, and I stood up from the couch and left my friend in the dust so I could go sooth my girlfriend. I knew to prepare myself for a lot of tears, but I couldn't blame her for still being hurt about her lost of Sanin… Sometimes, I wish he were here to make the going a little easier for me, but I knew that it was my responsibility now…

* * *

I crept my way into our bedroom, closing the door behind me and my ears immediately being assaulted by Dalieya's sobs, which made my heart sink. The mightyena was on the bed with her back facing toward me, she covered her face as her body continued to shake and tremble from before. I couldn't stand hearing Dalieya cry like this… It was tearing me apart…

Laying on the bed right next to Dalieya, I wrapped my arms around the weeping yeen's back...There was a bit too much about tonight that was reminding me of my first night here...with her. Dalieya instantly yanked my body into her arms with speed that almost made me yelp from the sudden surprise. The mightyena sobbed into my chest. "W-Why does this keep happening, Kenny…? Sanin's death keeps coming back to haunt me and I feel like it's all my fault… Everything reminds me so much of him…" she whimpered before she looked at me for answers, I couldn't give an actual reason for this...but I knew that it wasn't her fault. I hugged the mightyena as tightly as I could without choking her and kissed her forehead.

"It's not your fault, Lieya. If I told you once, I told you a thousand times. Stop putting yourself down, I know you did what you could…" Dalieya pushed me away from her, her force nearly enough to push me off of the bed before she turned her back to me and continued to cry. I frowned, not willing to get left in the dust that easily and I held onto her even tighter so she couldn't push me away. I ran my fingers through her two beautiful, shimmering black manes on her back, making her sniffles start to die down even if only slightly.

"I'm s-so sorry, love… This is just...a bit too much for me. Those people are still out there, they took my first love from me...I just...don't want them to take you too. I had little chance to grow any stronger to protect you so I could face them again, I'm just scared for you...and now Eugene too. But if I lost you, I would…" Dalieya stopped talking as I raised her chin to look at me, and she had to see the smirk that I had on my face.

"You won't let that happen. You said I was your second chance...so what am I worth if I don't try to make it worth taking the chance...right? If you won't let me get killed, then I won't do let it happen either." I cupped Dalieya's cheeks in my hands and kissed her nose. "If I die, I die hard. You're not just a strong mightyena...but you're a powerful woman who stands up for what she believes in. Sure, it's near impossible to be the very best, but that doesn't give us a reason not to strive forward. We're a team, Dalieya, and you'll stand up for me just like I would do for you. I know me being the optimist is weird...but, I really care for you… Wipe those tears off of your face and smile, you beautiful mightyena!" She didn't even have to do that, because I was already wiping those tears for her with my thumb. There was no better feeling in the world than having that cute face smile at me, her paws wrapping around my hands and holding them to her cheeks as she seemed to become lost in bliss. "The two of us...we could do anything together, and with Eugene on our side, the sky isn't even the limit! You can bet that we'll survive like the fittest until the end...and if anyone ever tries to kill you, bet that they'll have to kill me too. Dalieya, you're never alone, so I don't ever want you think that, okay…?"

I locked my lips with the mightyena once again, and she returned that kiss with as much warm love as she always gave. The two of us smiled at one another through our kiss, our eyes half-lidded as Dalieya somehow once again pushed me on my back and was freaking straddling me again. The mightyena rested her paws on my chest before she pulled away from our kiss, the two of us staring at each other with expressions that said that we were in deep thought. I didn't know what Dalieya had on her mind...but I was trying to connect the dots of everything that I had knew so far...though at the same time still pitching a very inconvenient tent in my pants from Dalieya having her rump on my lap again. Very awkward time for a boner…

I was trying to connect events when it came to the murders of Sanin, Melody, and now Lucario Guy...I honestly already forgot his name and felt like a terrible person, but that couldn't be helped. _Why didn't Cinder want Dalieya to know about the way that Melody got killed, when she already knew of this way of murder when it happened to Sanin…? Cinder knows something about this and...she knew Dalieya would react this way. Did the two of them know each other before and Dalieya just didn't remember her…? Or what if-_

Dalieya tapped me on my shoulder with her claws, snapping me out of my personal monologue. I looked up to the mightyena, who had a really sweet look in her eye. Her stare was soft and comfortable… "Would you mind if I asked you a question…?" she asked somewhat shyly, I gave her what one would call a 'smart-ass' smirk.

"You literally just asked me a question, so was that it?" Dalieya play-slapped me with her paw the moment that I was finished, and I nuzzled my face against her soft, gray pawpad with a grin. "Oh, come on, you know that I'm messing with you. Go ahead and shoot away, you can tell me anything!" The mightyena nodded, and became silent as she stared at her paws, which were now starting to rub on my chest in a circular motion and making me blush. I couldn't tell why...but I was suddenly starting to become nervous...

"Kenny...I…"

"Yes…?" I asked, encouraging her to continue despite that fact that I was now starting to sweat, the room suddenly becoming hot once again. Why was I so damn nervous right now…?

"Kenny, I'm in heat…" Dalieya finally spat out. My limbs starting to freeze up and become lifeless, not exactly from what she said herself, but my plaguing thoughts that immediately assaulted me after it. "I've been dealing with it for several days in fact...and it's really starting to bother me. I was...always too nervous to ask Sanin to help whenever it came around, and I was scared to asked you too. I fear it may be too soon to ask you such a thing...but I never got to try it with Sanin, and now he's gone. I guess I am a little selfish for asking, but I really trust you like I did Sanin...so I wanted to ask if you would help me…"

"N-No…" I said to myself, taking longer than I would have liked to realize that I actually said that out loud. Oh fucking man...I was already fucking things up for her without putting any thought into it! Why was I so scared!? My expression sunk even further when I saw Dalieya's ears flatten against her head and her face became shameful, as if _she_ just did something wrong. "W-Wait, Dalieya, I didn't mean that, I-" Dalieya gave me a weak smile where I started to trip over my words and break my own heart in the process, the mightyena being quick to step off of me before hopping off of the bed.

"No, love...It's okay. We had a rough and long night as it was anyway…" I frowned as the mightyena walked toward the door, her tail completely limp and devoid of any graceful sway or wag. "I'll be out for some fresh air, and I'm sorry for bothering you with such awkward questions…" Dalieya stepped out and shut the door behind her, barely giving me an 'I love you' or anything… My answer came off as so blunt and uncaring...I wanted to tell her yes, especially since I figured that this would happen… I just had to be so fucking nervous, worrying more for myself than I did Dalieya, making everything I just told her feel like a lie. I covered my face with my hands and tried to keep myself from screaming as I slammed my head on the pillow.

"God...I hate myself more than ever…"

* * *

Things have sure been weird for Eugene, who had decided it was best to turn the television off after seeing how upset Dalieya got over the newscast, another good reason not to watch it other than half of the news being fake. He was worried for Kenny and Dalieya even more, and he knew that he didn't know everything...but perhaps it was none of his business to begin with, so he tried his best to not pry if he didn't have to. He felt the two of them would be okay, and there were other things on his mind along with that. _I wonder where things will go from here? Will I get a pokemon of my own at some point…? What kind of dangers are we even getting ourselves into, will I have to fight those pokemon that I saw in my dreams, even Thunder Dog?_ Were just a few of the questions Eugene had regarding his new life here in the pokemon world. He was less concerned about getting home, but rather would they make it through until the end with all of them together…

Eugene tuned in the direction of a now shutting door, Dalieya being the only one to walk out. Her eyes were bloodshot, and she looked even more depressed than she went in. What happened in there…? Dalieya was about to walk past Eugene with no greet, but he wouldn't just let that happen without wording in, for both her and Ken's sake. "Hey, Dalieya...You want to talk about it?" was all Eugene said, looking over to the yeen from his spot on the couch. Dalieya frowned at him, knowing that her good nature forbid her from being rude to one of her friends. She didn't answer his question, only standing there and staring at him, that was a good enough answer for him.

"Come on, Dalieya. I'm Kenny's best friend for more reasons than just goofing off, better to talk to me than just go outside and keep being depressed, right?" Dalieya sighed, knowing that Eugene was right. She didn't have much of a choice at this point...or at least didn't give herself a choice other than to sit with him and just talk…


	8. Unfolding Secrets

**Call From Another World**

 **Chapter 8**

 **AN: Hi, everybody, I'm back after another unforgivable break, but hey, the new chapter of this story is finally here for you guys at least! Once again, I'm obligated to apologize in advance for any awkward scenes, as you guys know I'm not a super good writer yet. That should be the last time I say that, since I am constantly working myself to improve every time I write.**

 **I hope you guys enjoy, leave a review and/or some pointers as always so I can get better and know what I'm doing right and wrong! Grammar and spelling errors too of course…**

* * *

 **Chapter 7 Sum Up: We meet a new human character, going by the name of Eugene who's Kenny's best pal from their world. Cinder leads Kenny and Dalieya to Citamel Town, Dalieya acting rather strange along the way. They meet the village elder, Lysander, who shows them around the village and even gives them a treehouse to sleep in. Eugene suddenly appears in their temporary home and Kenny is overjoyed to have him tag along on their adventures. Some breaking news tears apart the happy moment, and Dalieya's heart all together. Kenny is faced with an important decision, and he fucked it up…**

Silenced remained between Dalieya and Eugene for a few seconds, the mightyena taking a deep breath before weakly stepping in front of the couch and hopping on. Looking downward as she shuffled her paws, she found herself sinking into the soft cushions once again. She was embarrassed to be comfortable despite the drama that went down less than ten minutes ago.

The yeen looked up to Eugene, her ears flat and eyes bloodshot with her tears. She rubbed a forepaw against her face as she waited for her friend to say something, but he was as quiet as she was.

 _This will take a while if we just sit here like this,_ the green-hooded teen thought to himself before opening his mouth to say "What's eating at you? You're Kenny's girlfriend, and he cares about you a lot," Eugene put a hand on his chin and looked down, a hint of red over his face. "...In a way, that kinda makes you my sister in law. Weird, I know, but… I can't just let you be miserable either." The lad frowned as he leaned against his end of the couch. Not only was there worry from what was potentially going down, but there was also the possibility of him screwing up and hurting Dalieya more. He cleared his throat, the mightyena as quiet as before. _I am_ _ **not**_ _good at this…_

Dalieya's eyes shifted around the room, opening her mouth but quickly shutting it. She started to tremble as she fought against her nature. _Is it a good thing that I can't just get up and leave…?_ she mused, bringing her gaze back to Eugene as her tail wrapped around her leg.

"I'm...embarrassed, I suppose," The mightyena closed her eyes and took another breath while Eugene bated his own. With the breath she took, tears dribbled from her eyes before she shook her head. "Afraid, ashamed, and I can't blame anyone by myself…" The dark type's face was turning a tint of red as she finished, leaving Eugene more confused than ever.

Eugene had only known this tranquil mightyena for a few hours, surely she knew that he didn't have a clue of what she was talking about. The male teen sat up before placing his hands in his lap and rubbing his knuckles together. "What makes you feel that way? If I may ask."

Dalieya's ears flew straight up the moment he asked, but she was just as quick to flatten them again as she was forced to remember what led her into this interaction. "I made Kenny feel awkward… I… I can trust you, right?" the yeen asked, taking a swallow before Eugene nodded with a neutral face.

"Sure. What is it that you need to say?" he questioned, starting to sweat as the mightyena looked at her paws again.

 _Should I be telling him something like this…? Is that fair to Ken…? Rrgh, he just has to be trustworthy, they're the best of friends. Just say it and be away with it,_ "Well, Kenny looked to understand when I told him, so I'm certain this will make sense to you. It's mid-winter season, and mammalian pokemon go through their heat cycles this time of year. I'm so embarrassed to say it. It's mating season for me, I guess…" Dalieya informed, Eugene shuffling when the explicit concept was brought up. "Honestly, I've been in heat for a few weeks,"

Raising his brow, Eugene raised his finger in an attempt to interrupt. Seeing that the mightyena closed her muzzle, the lad took that as his cue. "If you're in heat, have you been like...bothered from other pokemon who can catch that scent? I'm a little curious about that, sorry if that bugs you."

Shaking her head, a giggle escaped from the mightyena's lips before she covered her muzzle with a paw. That was admittingly closer to a reaction she'd expect from a boy, the mere thought of other pokemon chasing her around was amusing. Even with the issues that she was having, she much preferred that it'd be her own mate.

"Not at all, don't worry." The mightyena couldn't fathom why that question came off as a joke, but it was difficult to wipe her anewed smile off of her muzzle. She let a few more giggles out to an even more bewildered Eugene before giving him a more confident gaze. "Kenny knows that I'm pretty clever. Pokemon have plenty of ways to hide their scents from others, that much I learned as a cub. I won't make myself some...slut, just to take the burn away. In fact, now that I think of it…" the mightyena trailed off, scratching her chin with her paws as her tail wagged vigorously.

"When I met Kenny… I just didn't know about him, honestly. He wasn't kind to me at first, but...when we spent that first night together… There was something about him that made me feel safe after everything that had happened to me before… We opened up to one another, and that first sign of kindness made me forget about my heat. I mean, that's how it was before I thought of him as something more than a friend."

Dalieya's hind legs were becoming numb, from the chatter rather than how she sat. She curled up on the couch, resting her head on one of the available pillows. Eugene still hadn't moved an inch since sitting up though, still not knowing what to say in this situation. He wasn't any better than his friend in lengthy talks, but he was still interested in what she had to say about Kenny. It was...sweet.

"Anyway, my heat wasn't that bad at first. I am able to control myself rather well, but I confess that...sometimes just kissing him is enough to get me in the mood right now… I will never shake off that guilty feeling, but I know that a heat cycle can make another mammal pokemon so much worse."

"Yeah," whispered Eugene with a nod. "I see what you mean." The young man was fortunate that Dalieya was a very easy-to-please conversationalist that didn't take offense to his lack of words. The mightyena gave him a sentimental smile that Eugene knew very well from experience. _Man, she still knows anyway…_

"It never crossed my mind to ask Kenny for such a thing when we became a couple, and certainly not before that," the yeen said with a frown, shaking her head as she protested the thought of coming off as a whore. "Mating, if anything, is something that's special to me… I wanted to wait for just the right moment to ask, so I remained patient. You don't know about Sanin, actually. He was my prior mate, but I don't want to go off topic with those details...so… I didn't get to share _that_ experience with him. With all of the violence that goes around Axael, I try to spend each day like my last because...every day could be. Being young doesn't matter here anymore…"

Taking a hard swallow, Eugene scratched his chin at the thought of frequent acts of violence going down around the region he had stepped into. He knew that he came into the danger of the unknown, but then there was that horrific way that he saw Lucario Guy get murdered on the news. Eugene knew that he was being left in the dark in a situation that involved more than just a few hoodlums. The streets were always capable of hiding more of them, and he knew from experience. Dalieya cleared her throat, catching Eugene's attention again.

"I know at least half of what I say is incredibly cheesy, but I wanted to share every moment I could with Kenny and keep him happy in more ways than one. I still did it too soon, and now I fear that Kenny finds me a freak… I just don't know what to do about myself…"

Dalieya's ears flattened again as she frowned with distaste, looking down at her paws before she felt a meaty hand on her back. While that hand was firm, it was surely comforting. She looked back to Eugene, discovering the genuine smile he had. It was the first time he smiled since they confronted one another.

"I can tell you right now that isn't true," chuckled Eugene, that little chuckle soon to evolve into a hearty laugh. Dalieya still kept her frown with a cocking of her head, waiting for Eugene to explain himself. "You'd be so surprised. Don't take this the wrong way, but Kenny has _no_ class as far as that goes. He's his own little creature." A grin tug at the boy's lips, the mightyena narrowing her gaze.

"...what do you mean by that?" she asked, clueless as to where he was going with that. She didn't know if she should take offense to that, and it made her gaze turn into a glare. Another deep chuckle spat from Eugene, leaning back on the arm rest again as he looked toward the ceiling.

"We both know that he's into pokemon already, right? I'm almost surprised he didn't try to bring it up himself. With what you two were doing when I showed up, I thought you were already getting busy with him." Eugene's next chuckle was a slow and awkward one, Dalieya following suit at the memory. At least he didn't know she was hoping to make that assumption a reality then and there. "Seriously though, I think he's just nervous. I think we both know he's incapable of always expressing himself properly. He needs a bit to get himself together. He's still a virgin, after all."

Dalieya gave a smile at the thought, liking Eugene's positivity on the matter as he smiled back. She was in no position to call him wrong either. "Cheer up for now. I'm sure he'll change his mind."

The mightyena nodded, reassured that the situation wasn't as bad as it seemed. Hopefully, this meant things would be back to normal soon. "I hope so, because I really do love Kenny… I still respect the decision that he's made and I won't do anything more about it besides hope for the best," said Dalieya, her tone soft as she went to thinking. Eugene tapped a finger to his chin.

"Uh… If you don't mind, could you tell me more about Sanin? Who he was and what you remember of him too? Once again, if you don't mind." The beefy teen scratched the curly black hair on his head, the hyena giving him another nod.

"No problem… Sanin and I met under rather underwhelming circumstances, the same with how I met Kenny. He was eighteen without a pokemon in the world. I don't know what makes me cling to people so fast, but I just let him catch me without a real fight. The rest is too much history to get into, honestly…" Dalieya continued with the other details, the way Sanin looked and his personality being a few of the many. A night some time back started coming into her mind. "He was a really goofy guy, but like you'd expect of any mature human, he could get strict and serious. Overall though, he was a real sweetheart…"

 _ **Dalieya's head and forepaws were draped over a pair of human legs, the night being rather crisp for Axael at the time. Dalieya and her partner had completed the next milestone in their adventure, now content with spending the night together without the rest of the team. Things were just how they began, the human Dalieya was with being none other than Sanin Baxter.**_

 _ **The young man never kept that mess over golden hair neat, which Dalieya loved to poke fun at. He appeared younger than his age suggested, giving the appearance of a sixteen year old with fresh, slim facial features. His eyes were a lighter brown than Kenny's were, though there was something about them that she couldn't see in Kenny when they met.**_

 _ **As long as the private parts of his warm ivory skin were covered, people would say Sanin didn't have good taste in clothing. The young man would throw on any t-shirt he could find, the one he was wearing here being jet black along with a button-up collared shirt that he didn't bother to button up. The denim jeans that he was wearing weren't fit for all the running around that he did. Sanin was a simple lad, and it made plenty wonder what he could do to steal Dalieya's heart…**_

Though Sanin would never leave her heart, nothing would change that Dalieya loved Kenny as her mate. She wouldn't leave him for anything that she could be offered…

Eugene nodded to Dalieya after seeing that she was done with explaining everything to him, even with Dalieya seeming lost in her thoughts during the entire thing. He was a little surprised to hear how Sanin passed out after trying to ask her out the first time of three. Though there were a few laughs to be had from these quick stories, Eugene was still left curious with more.

"What about your teammates? Who were they?" The young man dared not to bring up the question of how they were murdered, taking a wild guess that they had met the same fate as Sanin since none of them were around. Dalieya was astonishingly calm about the topic.

"They were my family as much as they were my teammates," she admitted, her smile emanating the warmth she felt from thinking about them. "There was Reign...he was a sandslash with a bit of temper, but he was loyal and looked after everyone sort of like an elder brother would. Then there's Leo, a floatzel who was caught after I was. He was...just like you'd expect a floatzel. His head would be in the clouds, but he was a really good fighter whenever he wasn't sleeping and eating all the time," the mightyena said with a chuckle following suit. Eugene nodded again, wanting the mightyena to continue.

"There was Zeal, she was a mienshao. She was very uptight, often getting into our faces whenever we were in the wrong about something, like our really mean big sister! You wouldn't believe that her and Leo got mated. She was pregnant actually...before that...thing…" A moment of silence intruded the conversation. "Last, there was Teal. She had another trainer who gave her the name, and she was a zorua with a strange alteration in her coat… It's what the humans call "shiny" I guess. She was the life of the party and we all took her in as our little sister… Honestly…" Dalieya paused again. "Remembering my family back then makes me feel special...but I want to focus on the here and now. I still have two awesome dudes that I consider family too," she barked, her ears perking up as she showed that confident gaze once more.

Eugene was silent for a few moments, still in thought about all of the information he was told before shaking his head to orientate himself. He sat back up, smiling at Dalieya again. "Yeah. Just keep looking after Kenny. I'm sure that you're the one for him, and you'll find something that will make everything better," said Eugene, pumping his meaty fist as a spark of hope twinkled in Dalieya's eyes. She gave a very wide, toothy smile before yanking him into a hug. Eugene was almost surprised enough to scream, but he didn't miss the chance to hug her back.

"Thanks, Eugene. I...honestly still have doubts but I will try my best…" Dalieya brought her claws to her chin after releasing her friend. She tried to find something else to say, but a yawn escaped her maw. After licking her muzzle with a hint of fatigue, she looked back to Eugene. "I suppose now would be a nice time to call it a night. This is where I say good night and… Eugene. Thanks for everything."

"Don't mention it," Eugene replied, waving her off. Now left with nothing more to say, the mightyena gave him one last smile before hopping off of the couch and padding toward the room she shared with Kenny.

The door was ajar when Dalieya made it back, and she couldn't remember whether or not she left it that way. Slowly pushing the door open with her sniffing and creeping inside, she pushed the door shut with her hind paw before looking at the bed. Kenny's body was completely under the sheets, and she frowned at the sight. Taking a breather, the mightyena padded over to the bed with laid ears before climbing up to join her human.

The mightyena raised her paw over the lump under the sheets, unsure if he were awake. A random snore from the teenager would give her an answer, the curious yeen poking her nose under the sheets so she could see his face. It was all but pleasing to see.

The side of his head stuffed into the pillow, Dalieya noticed the dried tears that streaked his cheeks. _He was...crying… Oh, Ken… What have I done…?_ She almost brought herself to tears, realizing that Kenny was stressing himself over a situation that she didn't want to be an issue for them.

Sighing to herself, Dalieya crawled beneath the sheets and curled up without so much as a fur touching Kenny. She stared at him for a moment, content with watching her mate breathing before she licked his forehead. The mightyena finally closed her eyes to sleep after such a tiring day. _We have a big day tomorrow anyways… I have to just wait it out…_ the mightyena hummed, soon dozing off as the next day was steady approaching…

* * *

 **Kenny:**

I wasn't surprised to find myself waking up early, the light of the rising sun signaling the crack of dawn. Inaudible grumbles escaped my throat before I reached out of the sheets, grabbing my phone off of the nearby dresser. "Only 6:02?" I muttered, mentally sucking my teeth. "Guess I'm up now…" I slapped my hands at my face, frowning as memories of last night came to haunt me.

I knew it would be a long night for me when I woke up at two in the morning, having passed out from my crying still fully clothed before Dalieya came back. When I did notice that she was back in bed with me, I felt my stomach tying into knots.

Though it was tough to admit weakness, I could say that I feared what Dalieya thought of me after pushing her away in her hour of need. I reacted faster than I would have liked, but I wasn't near as quick to correct myself. _What's wrong with me…?_

As quickly and quietly as my body allowed, I stepped out of the bed to where my feet met with the cold surface of the wood below. I gave another look to my trustworthy companion before folding the rest of the blanket over her, somehow not waking her while doing so. Cracking a smile to the mightyena, I found happiness in the fact that we were at least still together. _Guess it's the perfect time for a shower…_

My shower didn't take longer than nine minutes, and I next went for brushing my teeth in my pair of boxers. After setting down my now rinsed toothbrush, I pressed my arms against the counter and stared at my reflection in the mirror. Even now, I still didn't think of myself as a treat to see. I was more so thinking about Dalieya.

"Why didn't I correct myself…? I could have at least apologized." Despite being aware that I had no reason to talk to myself, I still hoped that nobody awake was outside of that door to hear me. "It's too late to take back my actions..but I can't shake it off my mind."

After a while of keeping my mind on the subject, I finally brought my gaze to the phone to realize that I had wasted an hour in the bathroom. _Isn't this the only bathroom in the house?_ I grabbed my hand-picked clothes from atop the closed toilet lid before getting dressed. I couldn't agree that I was ready to start the day…

I stepped out of the bathroom in my black hoodie, blue jeans and red boots. Slipping my crimson scarf around my neck despite the day being rather warm, I made my way to the living room where I heard the television playing. Dalieya and Eugene were already awake, watching some cartoons and looking ready to head out themselves.

Dalieya kept her pink bandana, possibly not taking it off since I first tied it around her neck. Eugene meanwhile stayed loyal to his green hoodie, hopefully at least wearing a new shirt like I was. To find him dressed so similarly to myself was anything but a surprise. Even seeing my best buddy and my lady, I couldn't shake off the awkward feeling I got from their gazes turning toward me. There was silence, and Dalieya's gaze was enough to make my blood thinner than ice.

"Morning, dude," said Eugene. He had a smile that I couldn't hope to match as my eyes were fixed on Dalieya, the hyena frowning before darting her gaze to her paws. I bit my lip, looking at my feet before leaning on the wall.

"Yeah, morning," was all could say, tension thickening in the air that was enough to make me stay silent. Fiddling with his meaty fingers as he looked between Dalieya and I, the thought crossed my mind that Eugene had known what happened between us.

"So…anybody hungry?"

"No," Dalieya and I answered in unison before Dalieya and Eugene looked at me with widened eyes. I continued to look at my feet, catching their faces as my eyes scrolled upward. I had to admit that I was surprised that I wasn't hungry too…

"Uhm…" the mightyena spoke up. "We should go meet with Cinder. She's probably had enough rest by now, right?" she inquired, Eugene cocking his head at the mention of the name. I could say that I could care less about meeting Cinder with how things were.

"You guys go ahead if you're ready. I got something to do so I'll just catch up later if that's fine." I turned away from the two and headed back to my room, hoping that they would just take my word and not follow before closing the door behind me.

"I...guess I'll try to eat something," was the last thing I heard Eugene say, a feeling of guilt weighing me down like a pair of chains as I left myself with silence…

* * *

Thirty minutes after letting Kenny be to himself, Dalieya and Eugene left for the outdoors. With it being the first time Eugene had seen the village, the teenager was amazed from the sight of the enormous trees that shielded the village along with the unique plants and the striking river. He wasn't even aware that they were sleeping in a treehouse apartment before going out the door. The mightyena and human made casual conversation, with Dalieya telling Eugene about the village and what history she knew of it. Dalieya deciding that it was time that they search for Cinder. She was at least happy that the two of them became much better friends, which made him a lot easier to talk to.

"I wonder where she could be. She said she wanted to meet in the morning," the mightyena said, sniffing for Cinder's scent.

"So who's Cinder? Or rather, _what's_ Cinder?" Eugene asked.

"I'm here for you to see for yourself," a voice spoke up with a hint of tomboy that Dalieya immediately recognized. Hyena and human both whipped their bodies around and were met with the familiar long-haired growlithe that Dalieya considered good company. Cinder smiled at Dalieya before grinning at the new face with a look of interest. That human was not Kenny in the slightest.

Dalieya grinned at the spunky growlithe as if she found her lost sister. Both of the canines tails wagged, the mightyena wagging hers with much more vigor. "Nice to see ya again, Dalieya," chirped Cinder, looking to be loads more enthusiastic today before looking back to Eugene. She had never seen this human in the village, nor did she remember escorting anyone similar here.

Eugene looked to Dalieya, waiting for her to start the chatter as he had nowhere to begin. The mightyena reminded herself that Cinder didn't have a clue who Eugene and Kenny _really_ were, nor where they came from. _I shouldn't tell her that. Not yet at least._ Dalieya knew that she would have to pick her next words carefully.

"So, Cinder," Dalieya spoke up, jabbing her tail toward the new human friend with a smile. "Meet Eugene! He's a friend of Kenny's that made it over here on his own. He's traveling with us now!"

The growlithe eyed the two of them. Though she still had some curiosity in her gaze, she at least showed no sign of skepticism. Cinder walked forward to Eugene, showing the human her paw. The green teen grabbed her paw in a firm grip and shook, the two acquaintances grinning to one another.

"Nice to meet ya, Eugene."

"Same. Been waiting to meet you." The growlithe's eyes widened with a realization when Eugene had replied to her, now tilting her head so she could look at his ears. She noticed that there was no form of a translator there. Where did these guys keep coming from?

Cinder looked at Dalieya, hoping that the mightyena would have an answer as she figured Eugene wouldn't tell. Dalieya shrugged at the look she gave, knowing why she looked so puzzled. "I don't know either," was all she said, and there was some truth in that.

"Speaking of humans, where's Kenny? I thought he'd be here with you," asked Cinder. Eugene and Dalieya shot looks at each other. Eugene didn't even know what to make of this situation, quickly giving up and looking toward the nearby trees as he placed his fist on his hips. He knew that answering that question would lead to more, and Cinder frowned at their reactions. The growlithe gained a look of skepticism that let Eugene know she wouldn't let herself be ignored.

 _I guess I actually have to do it. For Dalieya, at least._ Eugene turned back to face Cinder, crossing his arms. "So there's just some things that aren't right between all of us right now," he paused, looking at Dalieya. "Hey. Is it alright if she knows?"

Cinder looked toward Dalieya, her golden tail falling limp as she saw the frown the mightyena gave them. There was at least a minute of silence, but by then she had made her choice with a nod. Taking that as the okay, Eugene continued.

With the details he knew so far, Eugene told Cinder as much as he thought would be allowed. He started from where he 'walked in' on Dalieya and Kenny having 'fun', Cinder eventually being told that Dalieya was in heat and was hiding it for Kenny's sake as well as her own. Eugene had concluded last night with what happened between the two and how it all led to Kenny staying behind. Though Kenny told them he had something to do, Eugene knew that he just felt too awkward to even want to hang out. Should he had intervened with it? It was certain that Dalieya would want that.

Cinder blinked after processing everything that she heard, sitting on her haunches before shaking her head and looking at Dalieya with a straight face. "Is that it?" she asked, Dalieya choosing to not meet gaze and instead favor eyeing her paws. "Look. If you're in heat, that's the way it is. Not like you can avoid it," she told Dalieya, who brought her gaze back to the growlithe who was pawing at her scruff. "I guess Kenny isn't that sex hungry, trying to be polite. Though honestly, he should be more sensitive, especially given that he knows how bad heat can get. He shouldn't have said no, the two of you are already mates. You trust him to not take advantage of you, I'm sure."

Dalieya's ears went from flat, to crumpling completely against her skull. "...but. You shouldn't blame him completely. I'm sure he has his reasons and he just needs time…" The mightyena was taken aback by Cinder's passion toward the topic, having thought that the growlithe had been bothered by their relationship. Cinder frowned, knowing that she was coming off the wrong way.

"I'm not exactly blaming him, but I do feel like I should say something myself. I get what you guys were trying to do, but some people just need a push in the right direction. I'll be back in a few." The growlithe turned away from the duo and padded in the same direction she came. Dalieya and Eugene remained in silence for a moment, thinking about the last of what Cinder said.

"I guess we just need to get bolder," Eugene said with a sigh.

 _Yeah… We all could get better at communicating with each other…_ Dalieya thought to herself, deciding that for now it was best to wait for Cinder to come back.

* * *

 **Kenny:**

Lying was never my favorite tactic, one reason being that I was bad at it. The thought of lying to my friends left a bitter taste in my mouth, and it led me to not do a thing that involved getting out of the bed. The wooden ceiling was my only thing to look at for forty-seven minutes straight, my hands clasped together and set on my belly. I was probably getting too deep into the situation by now, but my vivid imagination would not give up.

I couldn't get over my dread of losing Dalieya over something so silly, but I wasn't doing anything useful to salvage my first great relationship. _What the hell made me this way…?_

 _ **Creeeek…**_

I yanked my body to where I was sitting up at the sound of an opening door, raising my brows in anticipation of who or what was stalking through the house. Despite being the easiest person to jumpscare, my nerves remaining unaltered as I listened closely to the coming footsteps. I heard the clicking of claws against the wooden floors. _Dalieya…?_

My assumption was proven wrong when a familiar orange canine padding into the room without so much as a knock. With so much on my mind, I couldn't properly react to Cinder's unannounced visit. While a normal person would have asked how she got inside, I reminded myself that none of the doors in this treehouse had any locks. Of course, that just had to include the front door. _I know it works like that in the game universe, but please don't tell me that actually applies to every town._

"So," Cinder started, motioning her paw as I blankly stared at her. Cinder gave an irritated frown when she saw that I would give no immediate response, and I had a bold prediction on where this was going. "What's your problem, Kenny?" As I had feared.

I shut my eyes, attempting to not think about that particular problem as I was failing to do before. Unable to look her in the eyes, I turned away from the growlithe that only padded closer to the bed where I sat on. "Look, dude, I already know everything. Just talk to me," spoke Cinder, pouncing on the mattress before I finally looked in her direction. The growlithe quickly made herself comfy, though still keeping the same expression as she sat next to me.

 _Okay. Does_ _ **everybody**_ _know what happened here? This really should have been kept secret…_ I closed my eyes briefly, sighing. _I'm no one to deny the right of talking though. Chatter hour, I guess…_ "I just don't know what to do… I wanted to tell her that I'd give it a shot, but...my oh-so ultra instinct got the better of me and I did the exact opposite. I'm self conscious, and that anxiety affects my decision making if you didn't already know." My face started warming up as the subject was forced to the front of my mind again, and it made me turn away from Cinder again.

"Well get over it if you really feel that way, 'cause your rashness is what brought this up in the first place. I'm not picking on you, but if you don't try and make this up to Dalieya, you can kiss your relationship with her goodbye." From the corner of my eye, I could see Cinder's claws sliding over her throat with those last words. Kicking my feet against the bed, I took a deep breath. She was as blunt as could be, but she was certainly right.

"I'm not saying to just go have sex with her either, because that's still your choice. You still need to show Dalieya that you care about her feelings, and that you really love her, because she looks like she hates herself right now." Widening my eyes, I sat up straight and gave Cinder my full attention. _To think that Dalieya could have been blaming herself for my mistake..._ Cinder finally smiled to me. "Dalieya needs you, dude. Better now than later, and even if you don't know what to say to her, you still count as wanted company to her."

Without a second thought, I instantly suffocated Cinder in a hug. The unexpecting pokemon giving a surprised yip, I smiled as the immense warmth of her long fur pushed against my body. My spirits were lifted up more so when she hugged me back. "Thanks, Cinder… I guess it'll still take me a while to find my words, but I'll pull through and stay with her." Releasing Cinder, the growlithe gave a toothy grin and a nod.

Pouncing off of the bed, Cinder looked at me again before giving an energetic jump. The growlithe's huge puff of a golden tail wagged behind her, looking prepared to set back out. "So you're ready to go now, right?" I was hesitant in answering despite my better mood, now being reminded of something else that I had meant to ask the dog. Seeing that my face had straightened up, Cinder did the same with her tail losing its wag.

"Yeah, but is it okay if I ask you something?" The growlithe stepped closer before sitting in front of the bed.

"Okay? What is it?" the growlithe asked as she watched me step onto the floor and lean on the wall. I stared at the ceiling again, wondering how to ask the question that's been burning in my mind since last night.

"What _do_ you know about these murders that've been going on…?" The growlithe's ears perked at my words, her tail completely limping before I stood up straight. My feet moved on their own, leading me to pace in circles. "You told me to not tell Dalieya about what happened to Melody, for her sake… Last night, we saw a guy killed in the same way on the news. Dalieya told me that was how someone _she_ knew was killed too…" I turned back to Cinder with a neutral expression, barely noticing that she was biting her teeth before looking away with a frown.

"I'd...rather not talk about it," she quickly spat. My eyes narrowed at her answer. I knew Cinder was keeping something from me, prompting me to step closer while still minding her space.

"Why not? You know something that I don't. I talked to you, and now I need you to do the same." I wasn't irritated with the growlithe, only curious as I knew some good information would be helpful in our case. Cinder closed her eyes, hopefully planning to talk to me without more of a fight.

"I ran into a gang that once called themselves _The Union_...or something like that anyway. They're usually cloaking themselves in jackets and hoodies and kill people for the fun of it… A friend of mine was attacked by them too, which is how the name actually stuck in my head. That's it…" finished Cinder. The dog and I stared eye-to-eye with each other as I thought about what she said. I honestly wanted to pry more.

 _There's still things that aren't being connected here… Eugene and Dalieya are waiting on me though. I can't stall this out forever and I'm in no position to doubt her. I'm certain Cinder can be trusted…_ I closed my eyes and nodded, deciding to drop the topic for good.

"Sorry about your friend… So… You wanna just forget about this and get outta here?"

"Gladly," Cinder said, leaving the room and leaving me to follow. I was glad that conversation was over, at least…

* * *

Cinder and I were out and about, graced with the beauty of Citamel Village as Cinder led me to where Dalieya and Eugene were left. I was obviously nervous, but I kept my head up and focused on what I should be saying to Dalieya. It wouldn't be longer than ten minutes before we found my friends near the river, talking to one another as they sat on the grass. I cracked a grin as I saw the two laughing, happy that they were getting along but it was short lived. My confidence went south the moment we had reached them.

Dalieya and Eugene looked at Cinder and I when we got close, Dalieya staring at me more so as her ears limped. Cinder sat down next to Eugene, and I did the same next to Dalieya. I forced myself to push away my feelings of anxiety as the mightyena looked up to me, giving a shy, yet very cute smile. Crossing my legs and putting my hand in between, I gave Dalieya a similar smile. My other hand wrapped around the hyena's neck and I looked toward the others before Dalieya licked my cheek. Cinder and Eugene grinned at us, but knew by my lack of speech that I wasn't in a comfortable position to speak.

"It's gonna be a bit 'til Lysander meets with us. So...might as well chat or something," Cinder spoke up with her usual buoyant attitude.

The day got more lively as the sun came above our heads, the beginning of a new start for our group as the village folks walked around on their daily business. A few people who strolled by us were kind enough to greet us, and pokemon were scurrying through the grass. I was captivated by listening to the ripples of the river.

"So," spoke Eugene, trying to break the current silence before Cinder swiftly interrupted with a bark, our attention now being given to the growlithe instead. I was sure Eugene didn't mind, as he was terrible at starting conversations.

"Why don't _you_ have a pokemon? Eugene, right? Like…" Cinder paused before sniffing Eugene, earning a raised brow from Eugene and I. Dalieya only giggled, pushing her head into my neck before Cinder continued. "...I smell something not human on you...but it isn't like any pokemon I've met before. I'm a growlithe, so I'm sure you know how good my nose is. I can't even tell where the origin of that scent is though."

With Cinder waiting for answers, Dalieya and I looked at each other before looking at Eugene. The frown that he gave me said that he had no clue where to take this. _She's probably smelling his dog. I_ _ **should**_ _help, but I'm too curious to see what he'll say._ Seeing that Eugene gave such a casual shrug, I knew we would get anything but an interesting answer.

"I'm not from around here. I traveled pretty far, so...not sure how I still have a scent on me. There's a lot of pokemon back at home that you don't see around here." In a sense, he wasn't exactly lying…

The four of us continued our useless chit-chat for what was probably an hour, mostly between Eugene, Cinder and Dalieya. All of us had at least gotten comfortable, laying down on the grass as our butts became numb.

Noticing that something caught the attention of Eugene and Cinder to make them look over us, Dalieya and I sat back up before looking behind us. Lysander was finally heading our way, wearing the same clothes he had worn last night while greeting some villagers that were passing by. The old man gave us a smile that we all had returned as he approached, Eugene mostly doing so out of mutual respect.

"Mind if I sit down?" asked Ly, knowing that we wouldn't tell him that we did before sitting down between us with a chuckle. Ly looked at Eugene, giving him an even bigger grin. "Hey! About time you showed up!"

The four of us widened our eyes upon hearing that statement, though the surprise of Dalieya and I didn't last that long. We've been through the song-and-dance before, but it was still somewhat amazing that he foresaw his arrival. How so? I would probably never figure it out.

"What do you mean?" questioned the green teen, scratching his head while I watched Cinder's mouth slightly open. The befuddlement on the growlithe's face made it known that she was hopelessly trying to wrap her head around him as hard as I was. As expected, the only response she was given was another laugh.

"I don't actually know you, of course. Just expected for Kenny and Dalieya to get a new travel companion," he chuckled. My fingers meeting my chin, I thought to myself how many questions this oldie needed to answer. I knew that the majority of those questions wouldn't receive answers, so it seemed pointless to think on.

With Lysander now turning in my direction, I was yanked out of my thoughts as I watched his stare. It felt as if the sun's rays were intensifying on me and causing me to sweat. _Why is this man staring into my soul?_ I thought, perplexed at his sudden ability to keep a straight face.

He then stared at Dalieya, the yeen's ears perking the minute she noticed. Cinder and Eugene gave looks of uncertainty as Ly traded stares with the two of us which lasted a stupefying near two minutes. "What's wrong?" he finally said, everyone else gazing at the two of us before I face-palmed.

 _Goddammit, why is it always me…? That ain't something to talk to an old guy about…_ With Dalieya shying away from the topic and myself at a loss for words, we were in desperate need of a verbal rescuing once again.

"They had a fallout, but things are all good now," Cinder told him with a grin, but Ly didn't look convinced by that alone. My throat going dry, I took a swallow as I anticipated where he was trying to go with this. It's times like this where I really wish he'd back off, but I knew he would do the opposite as he stood back up. His gaze became serious, and that was something I didn't expect to see from the laid back Lysander.

"I want you two to come with me, we need to talk about something," he told us before looking at Cinder. "Cinder, keep our new friend some company. We're going to be a while," the old man said just above a whisper before walking away from our group, going toward the outskirts of the village.

I was reluctant to follow the man despite my curiosity, Dalieya frowning at me before she stood on all fours. Rubbing her manes in hopes of easing her, I stood to my feet as well before I decided to roll with the punches. Leaving Eugene and Cinder with a nod, Dalieya and I trotted after Lysander. We didn't know what to expect next, but I knew by now that the day was just beginning…

* * *

Lysander, Dalieya and I were walking for twenty minutes. The old man walked ahead while Dalieya faithfully stuck to my side. I looked back to where we came from. _When is this exercise gonna end?_ We were at the outskirts of the village. The trees around us were thicker, and there was a lake a couple meters away that I had never noticed before.

Dalieya was mute on our trip, something that I failed to notice until now. I sighed. _I really gotta talk to her. I have to make this right… If only I had some privacy…_ I glared at Ly, the elder still leading us into the unknown.

"I knew something happened between you two. Maybe it's something you wish to work out," Ly said, the mightyena and I exchanging glances to each other before nodding. "I was gifted knowledge that no normal person could ever learn on their own, but that doesn't mean that I know everything. With that in mind, I ought to give you early access to something." The old man stroked his beard, not seeing the curiosity that I had. We were left in silence again.

Blinking to myself as I thought of his words, I reminded myself that I wasn't watching where we were going. Bringing my gaze from Lysander's feet, my eyes widened as I finally noticed our destination. Dalieya shared a similar expression as we closed in.

Its details no longer hidden in the trees, Dalieya and I laid eyes on the temple that I had seen last night. "What a sight," Dalieya muttered, her eyes twinkling at what had to be the scene of the next Indiana Jones movie.

The temple appeared huge from the outside, yet it had a simple rectangular prism form that looked not too interesting. I hadn't studied rocks enough to tell what it were made of, but I knew it was some form of stone that was possibly slate. There was growing moss, and dents that appeared from its old age. The entrance was the area of interest for me, and I paid close attention to the details as we neared the slated steps.

Six columns were lined up on each side of the steps, made of cobblestone that had a few chunks missing. _Those are gonna crush me the minute I walk up there, aren't they?_ There were figures carved into the slate that rimmed the doorway, but the rust that hid them prevented me from seeing what they were. _Could be animals or people. Architecture is tough…_ I stopped walking, crossing my arms before thinking of an important question.

 _Why am I here?_

Dalieya and Lysander stopped when I did, the old man turning toward us as a smile appeared through his beard. "Welcome to what we call the Temple of Love," he said, my eyes narrowing as I nearly lost my lunch to that cheesy name. I looked back toward the entrance in an attempt to forget it.

 _What is with the corniness in here? The whole town is all about love with those drawings on those trees and now this. I know I have a girlfriend but I can only take so much,_ I ranted to myself.

Cocking her head at my reaction, my girlfriend looked to Lysander. "Why did you bring us here, Ly?" I brought my gaze back to him as well, seeing that his smile was fading away.

"You two can explore this temple if you wish. I urge you to do so, actually. You are the only ones permitted inside at the moment." Dalieya and I raised our brows in near-sync, the mightyena's ears standing straight. I brought a hand to my chin.

 _Lieya's been everything in the world since our first night together, but… What makes us so special to him that everyone else becomes overlooked? I'm the_ _ **last**_ _person that should be allowed to waltz into a sanctuary like this. I'm from another world, but does that really make me special on its own...?_

"If you two are really interested, which I believe you are, then don't hesitate. Go in and see what awaits." Dalieya and I eyed each other after he spoke, an unsettling feeling coming from knowing he was right.

 _I can't lie. It_ _ **does**_ _look like an epic dungeon just waiting to be explored. What fun is a Pokemon adventure without the actual adventure?_ I tapped my foot before shrugging. "Well, you wanna go?" I asked, the nodding mightyena's tail gaining its graceful sway.

"I'm game if you are, Ken." I nodded back to Dalieya, the two of us looking back to the entrance. We scaled the slated steps and past Lysander side by side. Even with my excitement for the exploration in mind, Dalieya still came before anything else. The fact that she had enough faith in this relationship to even consider doing this with me now was amazing, and it was giving some much needed confidence…

Dalieya and I were met with our first problem immediately after stepping inside. With the outside sun unable to reach from the entrance, it was pitch black with no way to see what was around us. I was expecting a zubat or geodude attack any second. _I have my phone! Wait._ That idea went south as I reminded myself how the flashlight insta-killed my battery. _If that happened while we were deeper inside, we'd be fucked._ Dalieya looked to be having trouble too, but there was one good thing about this situation. _We're...finally alone._

I was thankful that I could still see her silhouette, and she looked to me. The mightyena seemed lost, opening her maw slightly. Her ears crumpled as she sat in front of me. "We're alone, finally… Ken… I'm really sorry for the way I acted with you." I frowned at the mightyena's words as she sunk her head. Her claws scratched at the ground, somehow managing to scrape the solid slate. "I could have took your decision a lot better than how I did. Walking out on you was inexcusable and uncalled for… I love you, Kenny. If I have to fight my heat just to keep you comfortable, that is all I need to do."

Puffing her chest, the yeen looked to gain her confidence again. I shook from her words as the topic finally circled around. Looking down at my feet, I felt a pain in my chest. _I trust Dalieya's word with my life. There's no way I can say she's lying to me, but I can't let her think that way either._

"We don't have the exact same view here, I think... But I'm sorry too, Lieya. I can say that I was being a jerk about it. I ignored you this morning. I didn't try to stop you when you left, and I lied earlier only so I could hide from my problems. You're my first _good_ girlfriend, and I want to keep you forever. I will shape my attitude, and I _will_ make it up to ya." Kneeling down on a knee, I raised the mightyena's chin with my finger. We stared into each other's eyes, a smile tugging our cheeks before we pushed our lips together. _God, I forgot how warm this feels… It's only been since last night too…_ It was a brief kiss, but every kiss felt better than the last. As corny as it was, Dalieya's love was something that grew on me each day that we were together. A day where I went without it would be a day that I wasn't alive.

"I love you too, Dalieya. Could… Could we talk about it tonight?" Her smile not leaving, the mightyena barked with a gleeful nod. I caught the glimmer that was in her eyes, and it gave me a delightful vibe. The crimson shine they gave was enough to even brighten the room. _Wait-_

Looking to the walls around us, my eyes widened as wooden torches became alit with a pink flame. The walls were made of the same slated stone that we've seen before, with more interesting figures that were hidden behind rust and Decay.

The crumbling of stone caught our ears next, the two of us being met with a stone doorway that rose from the ground. There was our path, waiting to be explored! _This… This is pretty damn cool._ Looking toward my lady friend, I grinned before giving a half-lidded stare.

"Shall we head inside, m'lady?" I asked. The mightyena looked away from me with a blush, covering her muzzle before giggling. Dalieya nuzzled my chest while I was still kneeled.

"It'd be a treat if you could hold my paws while we did so," she teased, giggling again as I laughed. I grabbed the mightyena's forepaws before standing up, lifting her so she could stand with me.

 _I keep forgetting what a big girl she is, she's almost my height-_ I brought Dalieya into another short kiss before setting her back on the ground. "I can't make that happen, but I'll always try to make all of your desires come true. To the best of my ability, anyway..."

* * *

"You hungry? I barely had anything to eat all day," Eugene said to Cinder, the two being left with little conversation after Dalieya and Kenny left. The dog and human were clueless about each other, and it's been nothing less than awkward without their other friends.

"Not really hungry. The day only just started, but I can always go for some grub!" Cinder barked, her tail wagging with her rump. "There's this _killer_ grill place that I can show ya. Trust me when I say that it's _great_." Eugene grinned at the thought of tearing into a few grilled steaks.

"Feel free to lead the way." Both of them finally stood up after almost an hour of sitting by the river. Sliding his hands into his pockets, Eugene followed the trotting dog.

Cinder didn't know the dude, but she had more than enough reason to be more comfortable with him than around the others. _At least I don't need to worry about him finding out about any of that for now. He doesn't ask many questions._

"Why don't you travel with any pokemon? You seem like the guy that would have plenty of companions since you can understand our speech." Cinder looked back to Eugene as she waited for an answer. The beefy teenager only gave his signature shrug.

"Never personally owned one, and it hasn't been long since I left. I guess I'll find a partner sometime soon," said Eugene, looking down to Cinder. The growlithe's tail became still as she went silent.

"So you mean you never thought about it… Ya want one?"

"Hell yeah, always did!" Eugene shouted with a fist pump, not noticing how quiet his acquaintance became. There were so many possibilities when it came down to that first pokemon, but he never had favorites to consider what he would prefer. The green teen knew nothing about what was available in Axael, but he decided to drop the thought as he noticed something ahead.

The duo weren't far from a small wooden shack. While its size didn't impress, the aroma of freshly grilled meats it gave changed Eugene's mind. He felt that his hefty body could suddenly float and take him to heaven from the smell alone.

"We're here," Cinder said before entering the shack. The wooden hut was barren of any customers, though the orange dog only figured that it was because they've just opened.

Eugene and Cinder picked out a table before sitting across from each other, the former grunting in a poor attempt to make the tiny chair comfortable. Taking out his wallet, Eugene found his new ID inside and remembered Kenny's teaching's on how it worked.

"Food's on me," he commented before laying his card to the table. Eugene skimmed through the menu as the growlithe cocked her head at him. She thought that he'd be the cool and quiet type by now, but she wasn't expecting her guest to be so genuine.

"You really shouldn't, y'know?" Eugene waved the growlithe off before looking at her again.

"Hey, it's fine." Cinder's ears flattened at his words while her cheeks went red from his generosity. The smile that the growlithe gave was a darn cute one.

"Thanks, Eugene," she told him before opening her menu with her claws. While there weren't many selections, everything listed sounded mouth-watering to her. A waiter took their orders after a few minutes, and they were left alone once more. "You know, Eugene, I already like ya. You're a cool dude."

Eugene chuckled, laying his arm over the back of his seat. "I can say the same to you. How long do you think Kenny and Dalieya will be?" Cinder shrugged at the question.

"Beats me. There's no telling whenever the elder is a part of it," she answered before placing her paws on the table, almost mimicking Eugene. Her tail curled over the chair just as he did with his arm. "Can't be too much longer. 'Til then, want me to show ya around when we're done here?"

"Sounds like a plan," said Eugene, Cinder grinning at his answer. The day was beginning to look bright for the two of them, and they hoped that Dalieya and Kenny could say the same.

* * *

 **Kenny:**

Dalieya and I began to explore the deeper reaches of the temple, leading us into a dimly lit and narrow hallway. _It can't be wider than twelve feet in here… God, I'm getting claustrophobic._ Dalieya stuck close, pink torches continuing to alight with every few steps we made. I thought the hall was an interesting place after noticing the paintings that were hung across the walls. There were four of them, two pictures on each wall.

The paintings themselves weren't much more than primitive, as I could barely grasp the concept of any of them. Each painting looked to have a main color, with a different set of designs. The pink painting had a few cherry blossom trees while the hazel gave wild clear rivers. The green showed tranquil grasslands and the white one showed nothing notable in contrast to the rest. Each of these paintings had what looked to be an ancient text that I couldn't hope to understand. Dalieya seemed just as interested.

"Lieya, you know what any of these mean?" The yeen shook her head before one of her ears flopped.

"I haven't a clue. I really favor this one, though." The mightyena gazed upon the picture of the cherry blossoms, unwilling to avert her gaze. I looked over the text again since it was brought up, but understanding it once again proved futile. "You want to move forward?" the mightyena asked with a smile, and I nodded before we continued down the hall.

There was something about the illegible paintings that made me feel that they were important, though it were anyone's guess as to why. _They're ancient works of art in an ancient shrine, so I suppose they_ _ **would**_ _be important._ I started to feel strange after I reminded myself that Dalieya and I were the only two allowed here.

Another doorway came into our view, our path becoming steeper by the step. _Are we going underground?_ Dalieya and I soon entered another room. We stopped and looked around to see our new surroundings.

There weren't any corridors that led from this room beside the one where we came from. The room itself looked barren, the only thing catching my eye being the short pedestal that stood in the middle of the room. On top of that pedestal sat a grimy black stone in the shape of a sphere. _For a place so big from the outside, there ain't much to explore._ We stepped closer to the stone and looked it over. _Why would someone just put a pebble here? It has to be_ _ **something**_ _important. Right?_ I was doubtful of my own assumption.

I've guessed the stone would have been the size of my hand if I picked it up. Besides a few aged cracks, the only notable detail I found was the carving of a heart. The ends of the heart didn't meet at the bottom though, one end curling inside of the shape shape instead.

"Hey, I saw that shape in the painting from earlier!" Dalieya barked as her tail wagged with her rump. I brought a hand to my chin.

 _I… I didn't see anything like that… I wonder wh- Huh?_ The sound of a click immediately caught my attention, and I felt as if someone loaded a rifle behind my back. Narrowing my eyes, I scanned the room on high alert. Dalieya cocked her head at me with a frown. _Did she not hear that…? Was it my imagination?_

I frowned as well, but it wasn't at Dalieya. My body was frozen like ice but my mind raced with burning feet. An image came into my head without my consent. I payed it close attention... _**A blade zapped through the air with the speed of a thunderbolt. Where it was aimed didn't seem clear until I found myself in the way. I ducked for cover, the knife going over my head yet not stopping any time soon. There was something else in its path. Something that stood on four legs with black and gray fur. That was…**_ "Dalieya!"

Frozen by my imagination no longer, Dalieya screamed after I tackled her to the ground. I shielded her body with my own, the mightyena's breaths becoming harsh. "K-Ken? What's wrong?" she asked in a hurry, poking her head out of my arm before a gasp escaped her muzzle. Looking to where her attention was, I gave a blaring shout just the same when I found arrows sniping at us from behind. I forced Dalieya's head back between my arms as I shook without control. The arrows had shot over our heads and stuck into the opposite wall. _God would you believe our-_ "G-GAHHHGG!"

There wasn't just one, but two arrows whose heads sliced across my right arm, my blood shooting through the air with the arrows that hit the wall with its comrades. I sat there, blank-minded as my blood leaked down my arm. My mouth unable to close from the pain that wracked my arm, I brought my tearing eyes to the wall. My skin was kabobbed against the tip of one of the arrows. I closed my eyes and attempted to calm myself, slightly pushing into a labored breathing Dalieya. _At… At least she's safe…_

I got off of the mightyena as my arm shook against my will, causing its sting to become worse. Dalieya's mouth was agape like my own, her eyes bloodshot as she looked between the fallen arrows and the wall behind us. It looked to be a trap, an army of holes now revealed on the opposite wall. Despite not being able to give a clear thought, I knew that only sheer luck saved me from being skewered on sight.

As I held my arm in an attempt to stop the blistering pain, Dalieya looked at me. Though I had started to calm down, the shaking that Dalieya gave said she were in a totally different position. Her eyes were dilated, tears meeting her cheeks as she stared me down. I got a closer look at the nasty gash infesting my arm like she did, but I was trying to overlook it to not make a big deal.

"You okay?" I asked, Dalieya's muzzle pointing down as her breathing became harsher, almost to the point of hyperventilating. As I stared at the gray hyena, I felt guilty as a grin tugged my cheeks for a second. I knew what was going to come from her next.

"AM _I_ OKAY!? ARE _**YOU**_ OKAY!?" The mightyena's voice was brimming with fear, rushing to me as I hissed at another awful sting. I hadn't a clue how to answer that, but I wasn't trying to take pleasure over Dalieya overreacting to a cut.

"Yeah… I'm okay. Seriously, don't worry… I protected you and that's what counts," I chuckled, only to get the opposite reaction when Dalieya yanked me into her paws and sobbed into my neck. It was an embrace that became awkward with my injury, but it was always nice to know how deeply she cared.

"I don't know how I didn't see that coming sooner! I'm so so sorry… Kenny… But…" The mightyena let me go, a smile decorating her face before she averted her gaze. I blinked with a frown, waiting for what she was going to say. "I'm… I'm very grateful to have a mate like you… You saw that coming from a mile away yet you still put your life on the line for me… I should expect as much from you, I know, but I really just don't know what to say to that but… Thank you..." The mightyena stilled teared up, looking back to me before smothering my face with licks, making me chuckle again.

 _She's my girl, but she can be such a mom,_ I thought. "You would've done the same for me too. I guess it's part of the package. It's all over and done."

Backing away from my face, Lieya's attention was brought back to my gash. Her maw opened, her tongue slightly coming out before I gritted my teeth in disgust. I raised my other hand in front of the yeen before she could take it too far. She became befuddled when she noticed my forced grin. I only did what needed to be done.

"Noooooope." I closed her muzzle with one finger after the other, laughing at the blushing mightyena. "Sorry, Lieya. I know what you're trying to do, but I will _seriously_ never kiss you again if you do that. Not until you wash your mouth at least." Dalieya and I giggled after I released her. Dalieya stared at her paws after our laughs died down.

Dalieya undid her pink bandana with her claws before catching it in her jaws. "Here," she muffled with a smile. "Wrap this around it if you're so tough. It'll help until we can bandage you." While I didn't question the mightyena, her choice to do this still left me amazed. I looked at the cloth before I took it in my hands.

 _She loves this thing so much. She never wanted to take it off before today..._ I wrapped the bandana around the gash with a bitten lip. The pink cloth quickly became a soiled, deep red when I finished tying the ends. I smiled to the mightyena. "I'll wash it as soon as I can for you. Thanks, Lieya." The mightyena giggled again, a toothy smile appearing on her muzzle before she kissed my cheek.

"After you're done with that, I want you to keep it," barked Dalieya. After my eyes widened in shock, the gray yeen put a paw to my mouth before I could give a remark. "Listen, Ken. Y'know that I remember that day we first met… I remember how pessimistic you used to be... You had very little imagination when it came down to how to live your life without family. It made me think that you really were all alone wherever you call home, and I feel that you still feel lonely whenever I'm not around. You offering to buy me that bandana showed me how much you cared for me, how much you'd look out for me as a friend. If you keep that bandana, I feel that you'll know exactly how I felt. You'll know how much I love you whenever you are alone. If we were to ever be separated, do know that bandana is my way of saying I won't stop looking for you until we're reunited."

A cheesy grin tugged my cheeks despite my surprise. I cupped the yeen's fluffy cheeks in my hands before I pressed my nose to hers. Closing our eyes, Dalieya nuzzled against me before her head laid on my shoulder. "You're seriously too good for me sometimes, Lieya…"

A pink light filtered through my closed eyes, Dalieya and I becoming alert before I searched for the source. It was coming from the pedestal in front of us. _What the…?_ The pink light was shining from the stone, which became transparent much like a crystal ball. Our eyes glittered at the new beauty before it started to levitate, hovering in front of Dalieya. The shape of the familiar heart formed inside before Dalieya took the mystical relic in her maw. Though the shining had ceased, the orb still had an amazing pink essence that showed from the inside.

Dalieya soon set the object between us, but we were surprised to find the stone floating around her. If Dalieya were a planet, this thing was definitely her moon.

"What's with this thing?" I asked, the mightyena shrugging as our eyes remained glued to the artifact. There was another familiar crumble. The pedestal where the stone once sat now had something else in its place.

A pair of golden rings had taken the stone's place, big enough to fit around any of my fingers. Dalieya stood on her hind legs so she could get a closer look as we noticed the design of thunder engraved on them. _Wasn't exactly ready for the wedding, but-_

"Hey, those must be thunder rings," uttered the yeen, earning a raise of my brow. "These were made in ancient times so humans had a better chance of surviving against electricity like thunder with a pokemon's endurance. I've only read on them so much, but I don't know why these are here…" Dalieya gave a mischievous grin. "They're ours for the taking now! Why not give the other to Eugene?"

I snatched the pair of rings without a second thought before sliding one around my ring finger. "It'll be useful, but I can see this being a tight fit for Eugene," I said to the mightyena before something caught my eye on the ceiling. Dalieya's eyes following my own, the mightyena caught sight of a painting that was hidden to our lack of perception.

Looking it over as best I could, I noticed five shapes. I couldn't tell what these shapes were from where I stood, but four of them were the familiar colors we've noticed before. _Pink, hazel, green, white and… Red._ I noticed that if I looked at the position of the shapes, I could connect the dots to form the shape of a star. The shape of something familiar sat between the five objects, a mammal that looked to be a canine with a gem on its head. _What does this mean?_ Deciding to not think too deeply on it, I advised to Dalieya that we should take our treasures and leave.

We left the temple by each other's side, smiles decorating our faces as we were happy to finally have our relationship back to normal. Lysander looked to not have moved since we've departed, and I became wary of the snarl that Dalieya was building up. The mightyena moved in front of me immediately after getting off of the steps, my blood turning cold at the threatening sight.

"Ly! H-how could you let us go into that ancient death trap!?" Dalieya's bark made both Lysander and my eyes widen, though I couldn't have blamed her. While I did find it hard to hold a grudge, Dalieya still could have been killed if I didn't get some random future-sight abilities. Dalieya looked a lot more fragile from what happened in there despite not having a single scratch. "Look at what happened to Kenny's arm! He could have been killed if we didn't get so lucky!"

I held my arm on the cue for the old man to see. He winced at the sight of my wrapped up limb, and he rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm...sorry about that, kids… I didn't set the traps that were in there myself. To keep it short, it was a test for you two. It's probably the time that I finally told you two what's going on."

Dalieya lost a little of her frustration, her head now cocking with confusion. I raised my brow to the old timer. "So, Kenny. I'm sure that you know that you're in this world for a reason… The trial in that temple was made for Dalieya and yourself. It was to prove your love to her, and in a way show what you've learned so far on your journey in Axael. Compassion, curiosity, understanding of others actions and love."

The mightyena's anger disappeared completely at the mention when I looked at her. She looked back to the temple's entrance, her tail wagging as she did so. I could tell that she was still grateful for what I did for her, and now she was stuck to me like glue while she watched my back. Now more than ever.

 _Okay… Why is this guy reminding me of that voice I heard? I was supposed to learn things while I was here. Are these supposed to be part of this…? I know that if it were any random person, I'd probably gain the ability to backflip over those arrows in an attempt to save myself first. There's no way I would leave a friend like that though… So… What's the exact point? I know what love will make me do now, but…_

I tried to push the thoughts away. "I guess that makes sense… Y'know, as corny as it is, those torches only lit the place up when we made up to each other. I guess that's understanding and compassion… After that whole arrow thing and…" I closed my mouth with a blush, the mightyena and Lysander smiling at me. I turned to Dalieya. "When you showed me that tenderness that I love you for, that's when that rock came to life." I pulled the orb out of my pocket to hold it in the air, everyone present staring at the essence inside before Lysander came closer.

"What you have there is labeled the Love Stone. I believe that's meant for Dalieya. In fact…" Lysander trailed off, going into his pocket before pulling out a pale pink collar. He placed the collar in my free hand as I continued holding the stone to the sky like an idiot. There was a small strap that looked like it could hold the orb in place. "This will lessen the weight in carrying it around."

Sitting on her haunches with elegant grace, the mightyena held her chin up with a smug grin. _This is really reminding me of Occed Mall. Only difference is that she's a lot more confident this time._ I wrapped my arms around the yeen's neck and put on the collar. After hooking the Love Stone to it, I took a step back as Dalieya grinned at me. _So damn naturally beautiful._ It was too bad that someone had to interrupt before I could actually say that.

"There's more stones that you will have to travel the region to find, Kenny," said Ly. I tilted my head and slipped my hands into my pockets. With this being related to the reason I was brought here, I wanted as many answers as I could find. "I don't know everything, but a legend in the Axael region says these five stones can reveal secrets that will recover a legendary power hidden within the region itself. I suggest you work on finding them with your friends if you want answers to why you're here. Not even I know the exact reason for it..." A few wrinkles appeared on his face as he became more serious. "I'm not certain on how to tell the both of you, but there is an organization lurking the region and searching for these stones as well. Anyone who knows how to tap into the power of the stones can be a serious threat whenever they receive their strength, much like the Love Stone is now. I ask you this because this was the reason they decided to bring you. Why? Like I said, I still don't know."

"What…?" I became silent, Dalieya looking at me with a frown as I thought about what I was being thrown into without my consent. _He can't be trying to ask me to save the world or something… I was never a good guy._ It didn't take long for me to figure that I wasn't interested in stopping this organization, and it's not like I could hope that I could. I would surely be murdered. _But then again… What about Dalieya and Eugene? The longer we stay, the more danger they're in if these people_ _ **do**_ _find this power… At the same time… If I search for these stones for myself, I can probably find the answers to my questions._

Ambition. That was something that I haven't felt in a very long time, yet I felt it entirely with this quest. As long as my friends weren't in any danger, I could care less about what these bad guys were up to. The consequences of letting them run around weren't that bad if they didn't cause any trouble on their own so far. As selfish as it was, my ambition to get answers overcame my will to help others I didn't even know. I didn't know if it was a good or bad thing. Dalieya still didn't say anything as I remained in my thoughts, Ly somehow getting a chuckle out of it.

"Don't worry yourself too much, kiddo. You're too young to understand it all, and even if you did, you're still not ready for a responsibility as big as this. If you tried to do the future trials now, you'd probably be crushed in every sense of the word, but… You were brought here for a reason, but trust that the Love Stone will serve to protect you as you all move forward. Come on, we should get you some bandages and get back to the others. We've talked long enough." Lysander walked ahead of us, leaving me to blink. Dalieya shot me a look.

"Am I… Am I really a chosen one or something like that?" Dalieya's ears flattened as she said this. "I was just hoping to have fun with you on our adventure and no more crazy events. Was that asking for too much…?"

"No no no, not at all. I'd forget about whatever he said if I were you. You're my special chosen one if anything, and as long as you and my friends are safe…" I bent down and licked Dalieya's nose, her ears standing back up as her tail wagged. "...bad guys ain't no bother to me. We're still gonna keep adventuring no matter what. Let's catch up to Ly."

The mightyena giggled as we trotted side by side to catch up to Lysander. There were still questions on my mind that made forgetting this predicament not so easy. _Does that really have to do with me being brought here? There are five shapes, so does that mean there are other people that are a part of it too? Just what_ _ **was**_ _that voice. Wait… If I know what I'm supposed to do now...that means…_ I frowned. _I know when my adventure with Dalieya is going to end. I did not want any part of this, but the end result could still be bad for Dalieya and Eugene if we don't do anything… If I go through with it though… I have to leave Dalieya forever…_

* * *

After getting myself properly bandaged and getting Dalieya's bandana soaked in clean water, it didn't take the three of us long to find Cinder and Eugene. The duo were relaxing in the shade, laughing with one another as they seemed to ignore the rest of the world. Cinder swatting Eugene's leg gave me a grin, and Dalieya was no doubt happy from the sight as well. Eugene being so chummy with anyone was surreal for me to see. _How are we gonna tell them this? It may not matter to Cinder since she doesn't travel with us, but it might to Eugene. Gotta keep it optimistic, at least._

They hadn't noticed us until we were right in front of them and we all greeted each other. Everyone's good mood was quick to change the moment that they noticed my arm. "What happened out there?" asked Cinder, unable to keep herself from cringing. While Eugene wasn't a man of words, I still knew how to see his concern for me. I tapped my chin before turning to Lysander.

"Think you can explain all of that for us? I'm still trying to wrap my head around anything at all."

Lysander told Eugene and Cinder the same details that he had told us before. While he kept the explanation brief, it was still good enough for the two of them to see the magnitude of the situation. I ignored most of his words, checking my phone every so often for the time until he was finished.

"I didn't think I'd get myself into anything big besides trying to find you," said Eugene, chuckling as he shrugged. It made me think he didn't care much about the situation either, but I knew he could be unpredictable. "If we go through hell though, we do it together. Right?" Eugene held out his fist. While I wasn't sure if this meant he cared, he clearly took it without strife. Even if we avoided this situation all together, we wouldn't be completely invulnerable to danger. I felt as if he had an understanding of it.

I returned my bro's fist bump, still having some confidence from having both him and Dalieya by my side. _I can tell him later how I really feel about this. For now, just let it all be._

"Dunno where we should go next after this though," I said, looking up to the crowns of the trees above. Lysander chuckled.

"I doubt anything urgent will happen anytime soon, just relax. Even if I'm wrong, I guess you have to be ready to respond to some trouble if it comes your way." Eugene and Dalieya nodded to the old man's comment while I gained a bitter taste in my mouth.

 _If they aren't after us themselves, then what's the deal? Oh wait._ I went into my pocket before pulling out the extra thunder ring I collected. When I handed it to Eugene, Cinder stared at the treasure with astonishment. I told him what I knew of it and he quickly shoved it on his finger. It looked far from comfortable on his middle finger… Eugene was never one to complain though, so he didn't say a word.

"So would you like to find something else to do? We still have the rest of the day ahead of us and there's no reason to call it quits now," Dalieya said happily before resting her head on my shoulder and licking my cheek. With everyone coming to agreement, I could say that this once awkward day was finally coming to its happy close…

* * *

Hours had passed since Kenny and Dalieya left the temple, the crescent moon now watching over the village as everyone slept soundly. That only went for everyone living in the village…

Chunks of slate and cobblestone flung through the depths of the shrine after an explosion infiltrated the room where the Love Stone used to reside. Several humans and pokemon of different sizes rushed inside before scanning the room high and low. Their faces were cloaked with black hoodies, and their cloths stretched down to their knees to double as trench coats.

A pair of zangoose brought out their claws before tearing through the walls with little effort, some houndoom and mightyena doing similar to the ground. Multiple holes soon littered the temple walls and floors as the humans searched with their flashlights. There was nothing here.

"Where is that fucking rock we were told about? It should be in here," one of them grumbled. The grunts talked amongst themselves as their pokemon continued the search. A few had sniffed out a human's blood, finding some arrows that were meant to be a trap. It only took a few sniffs from a houndoom to find out the human was still living. "Boss is gonna trip balls if we don't come back with the bloody thing."

"Lookie there," said one of the grunts who pointed to their braixen. The fox showed them a phone between her paws before pointing to the pedestal. Snatching the phone from the vixen, the grunt looked over its badly cracked screen. The screen lit up. Someone was actually calling a random phone left in a shrine. "Who the fuck?" He tapped on the answer option with a growl.

"Who the hell is this? Speak," he hissed, the other crew members having stopped their investigation to see what the deal was. His response was a raspy, wily laugh on the other side of the line.

"You think that I would be fool enough to meet a gang of dirty crooks like you? Even if what you wanted was still there, foolish men like you couldn't hope to ever gain the power that resides in the stone." The cloaked man's hiss was loud enough to put a seviper to shame, and his spit was full of venom.

"Who the hell has it then!? Tell me!" Some of the men pulled out their pocket knives, their pokemon licking their chops wickedly. The mightyena and houndoom sniffed the blood that they found, the hyena giving it a taste while the houndoom pointed his head in the direction of the scent.

"Someone who has earned it. That's all you need to know."

The man's eyes dilated, pulling the phone directly to his chapped lips. "Alright, old man. You don't wanna make any sense? _We will burn that damn village to the ground and rip everybody's hands clean off until we find that damn thing. And that's a promise_." He slammed the phone to the ground, the device shattering into pieces upon the collision. The man was soon met with another who put a hand on his shoulder.

"No. Remember, we can't do anything extreme here. We burn this village and the whole forest is put on fire. We didn't bring helicopters because the trees are too thick to fly through and the cops would be on our asses. This forest is too big to deal with breathing smoke when we make our way out. We do what we need to quick before authorities get here and we escape through the river as we planned." The furious grunt paused from his associate's words, eventually nodding before turning to the rest of the crew.

"We're going back to the village and getting that damn rock. Our canines already have the scent of who was in here, so leave that to me and them. As for the rest of you, teach this old man what it means to mess with _The Union_." The men and pokemon smirked at his words, the men cracking their fingers as the pokemon all readied their claws. "A couple bodies mean nothin' to us…"

Lysander set his phone on the counter before looking through the window of his home. Though the old man preferred keeping a positive attitude, he expected the worst for his village as he knew these criminals weren't too far away. There wasn't much time before they came here, and they would surely cause havoc. Cinder had been warning the villagers and pokemon to ready themselves the moment Ly saw them coming, and the only people left for her to warn were their new friends. _They came much too soon._

Lysander looked to an open pokeball that he left on his dresser. _I really hope he got that call…_ His gaze went back to the window. _Are those kids really ready to take on criminals like these? They don't realize what danger they're in. Even without the Love Stone, they would all still be needed for the power of the stones to even work. They have a bull's-eye on them no matter what they do._ The old man grabbed his shoes, favoring a pair of sneakers over his usual flip-flops. _They'll need all the power that stone can give them, so I hope they figure out how to use it…_

* * *

 **Notes: Hope you guys enjoyed that chapter! So I put down some links to discord servers on my profile! Check that out if you want to keep up to date on all of my stuff! Stay safe you all, and peace! Be sure to leave a review!**


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